EXPERIMENTS IN 
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



■?&&& 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON - CHICAGO 
SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



EXPERIMENTS 

IN 

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



BY 
DANIEL STARCH, Ph.D. 

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 



Jleto gorfe 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1911 






v>^ 



Copyright, 191 i, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

Set up and clectrotypcd. Published September, IQIX. 



oS 



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CU295645 
V 



PREFACE 

This book is designed to serve as a guide for laboratory 
experiments in educational psychology. Only those ex- 
periments have been selected which have a more or less 
direct bearing upon educational problems. It is intended 
to be a laboratory manual for experimental work done 
parallel with an introductory course in educational psy- 
chology, or in other introductory educational courses in 
which the psychological aspect is emphasized. 

No previous training in experimental work is necessary. 
The directions are so given that in most experiments 
relatively simple apparatus is used. For many experi- 
ments the material is contained in the book, for others it 
may easily be constructed, and for the rest it must be 
obtained from the sources indicated in each case. 

In pursuing the laboratory work the order of the chap- 
ters permits of considerable flexibility. All chapters 
except V and VI are independent of one another and any 
desired order may be adopted. The work is intended to 
occupy two hours weekly through one semester. It is 
best to divide the class into groups of not more than eight 
or ten, in charge of an instructor who shall see that the 
experiments are done accurately and the notes written up 
carefully. 



VI PREFACE 

In order to emphasize the practical aspects of the prin- 
ciples brought out in the various experiments, a brief set 
of exercises is placed at the end of each chapter which 
should be worked out and handed in as a part of the 
laboratory notes. Additional references are given to 
excellent practical problems which may best be assigned 
for discussion during the recitation hour. 

I wish to express my obligations to Professor V. A. C. 
Henmon, who suggested numerous changes in the manu- 
script, to Dr. B. Q. Morgan, who read the manuscript, 
and to Professor W. F. Dearborn, with whose cooperation 
several experiments, particularly those in Chapters V, 
VII, and VIII, were planned 

D. S. 
University of Wisconsin, 
June, 191 1. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Individual Differences i 

II. Visual Tests and Defects 13 

III. Auditory Tests and Defects 19 

IV. Mental Images 25 

V. The Trial and Error Method of Learning 34 

VI. The Progress of Learning 41 

VII. The Progress of Learning {Continued) . . 47 

VIII. The Transference of Training ..... 71 

IX. Association 86 

X. Apperception 115 

XL Attention 133 

XII. Memory 161 

XIII. Work and Fatigue 172 



Vll 



EXPERIMENTS IN 
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

CHAPTER I 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 

Problem. The experiments in this chapter are intro- 
duced with a threefold purpose: first, to show the nature 
and amounts of differences in mental abilities between in- 
dividuals; second, to determine to what extent mental 
ability in one direction is accompanied by ability in other 
directions; and third, to demonstrate some simple and 
accurate means of measuring mental functions. In order 
to gain scientific insight into these problems, four types 
of mental functions or abilities will be selected for measure- 
ment, namely: memory, perception, controlled associa- 
tion, and arithmetical ability. 

Procedure, i. Memory, a. Auditory Memory Span. 
The purpose of this test is to determine the largest number 
of unrelated words that can be recalled immediately after 
one hearing. This test should be conducted by the in- 
structor in charge and performed simultaneously by the en- 



2 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

tire class, as follows: Be prepared with pencil and paper. 
The person conducting the experiment will read the follow- 
ing groups of words at the rate of one word per second. 
Immediately after each group is read, write in correct 
order all the words remembered. Then the next group 
will be read, and so on. Do not read the test words given 
below until the experiment is finished. 

Tree, box, chair, ice. 

Floor, book, house, pipe, lake. 

Fence, card, pin, lamp, coal, horse. 

Wood, dog, stone, nest, ink, nail, leaf. 

Wall, fork, glass, board, hat, cup, lead, cat. 

Bench, snow, watch, man, rose, heart, gold, king, nose. 

Girl, plant, bread, skate, roof, corn, boy, door, face, key. 

Compare your results with the lists as read and find the 
largest number of words remembered in correct order from 
any one group. This is your memory span in the auditory 
field. The use to be made of this measurement will be 
pointed out below. 

b. Memorizing. Learn the following stanza by reading 
it through entirely, not by parts, and record the exact 
time in minutes and seconds. Consider it memorized as 
soon as you can repeat it without consulting the text. 

A wanderer is man from his birth. 

He was born in a ship 

On the breast of the river of Time; 

Brimming with wonder and joy, 

He spreads out his arms to the light, 

Rivets his gaze on the banks of the stream. 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 3 

2. Perception of letters and words. 

a. The E Test. Cross out with a short horizontal stroke 
all the E's in the table below. Work as quickly as you can 
without omitting any. Record the time. 

FLESMRETHGAUDRETTE 
BENUTROFAERBSESOTDE 
MIALCXEREBTAFEELBAF 
ERIGEEEHRELWOBECITO 
NNEVEDESHDEWOLLEYET 
HEENYLERITNEREVETAH 
WTOPEEFOCESRUOCRETT 
EELATEMTESTAEELPOEP 
NETFOSEHISFDEKOYREV 
NEEBBDAEDYETTERPDET 
FLSEMDERAOREHTAFEMO 
CEBNEHWZEVGEZQXKED 

b. The e-r Test. Strike out with a horizontal line each 
word that contains both e and r in the following text. 
Record the time. 



43 



4 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Sed quoniam, patres conscripti, gloriae munus optimis 
et fortissimis civibus monumenti honore persolvitur, con- 
solemur eorum proximos, quibus optima est haec quidem 
consolatio: parentibus, quod tanta rei publicae praesidia 
genuerunt; liberis, quod habebunt domestica exempla 
virtutis; coniugibus, quod iis viris carebunt quos laudare 
quam lugere praestabit ; fratribus, quod in se ut corporum, 
sic virtutis similitudinem esse confident. Atque utinam 
his omnibus abstergere fletum sententiis nostris consultis- 
que possemus, vel aliqua talis iis adhiberi publice posset 
oratio qua deponerent maerorem atque luctum gauderent — 
que potius, cum multa et varia impenderent hominibus 
genera mortis, id genus quod esset pulcherrimum suis 
obtigisse, eosque nee inhumatos esse nee desertos, quod 
tamen ipsum pro patria non miserandum putatur, nee 
dispersis bustis humili sepultura creatos, sed contectos 
publicis operibus atque muneribus eaque exstructione 
quae sit ad memoriam aeternitatis ara virtutis. 

Quam ob rem maximum quidem solacium erit propin- 
quorum eodem monumento declarari et virtutem suorum 
et populi Romani pietatem et senatus fidem et crudel- 
issimi memoriam belli, in quo nisi tanta militum virtus 
exstitisset, parricidio M. Antoni nomen populi Romani 
occidisset. Atque etiam censeo, patres conscripti, quae 
praemia militibus- promisimus nos re publica recuperata 
tributuros, ea viris victoribusque cumulate, cum tempus 
venerit, persolvenda; qui autem ex iis quibus ilia promissa 
sunt pro patria occiderunt, eorum parentibus, liberis, 
coniugibus, fratribus eadem tribuenda censeo. 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 5 

3. Controlled Association, a. Opposites Test. Write as 
quickly as possible the opposite to each word in the 
following list. Record the time. 

Strong Dark 

Deep Rough , 

I * 
Lazy Pretty 

Seldom High 

Thin Foolish 

Soft Present 

Many Glad 

Valuable Strange 

Late Wrong 

Rude Quickly 

b. Genus-Species Test. Write the name of some par- 
ticular object for each of the class names in the following 
list, as for example, tree-oak. Work as quickly as possible 
and record the time. 



6 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Book State ) ' 



City 

Writer 

Scientist 

River 

Wood 

Flower 

Animal 

King 

Grain 



Poet J 

Building 

U. S. president 

Fruit 

Battle 

Musician 

Lake 

Street 

Nation 



4. Arithmetical Ability, a. Addition. Add as rapidly 
as you can the following sets of numbers. Record the 
time. 



364 


692 


756 


637 


743 


479 


423 


945 


482 


274 


334 


498 


247 


926 


762 


652 


973 


958 


496 


968 



. « y* %<W fl 1 * 4®' ' 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 7 

b. Subtraction. Perform the subtractions indicated in 
the following numbers. Record the time. 



372 657 

I 7* / 



984 


724 


982 


768 


835 


845 
13? 


328 

if* 


476 


372 


657 

I 7$ 


862 


987 


597 


984 


942 


465 

•7 


348 
tit 


435 


756 


453 
\ I 7 



Results. In order to show the bearing of these experi- 
ments upon the question of individual differences, it is 
necessary to obtain the data of the tests from each mem- 
ber of the class and to compare them with one another. 
Construct a table to show the name and records of each 
individual. See Table I. 

Draw a curve of distribution for the results of each test 
showing how many individuals belong to each grade of 
ability. For example, in the memory span test, let the 
abscissae represent the different numbers of words re- 
called and the ordinates the number of persons possessing 
these different spans. See the curves in Figs, i and 2. 
In the other tests, the intervals of time should be graded 
by thirty, fifteen, or ten-second steps. Thus, for the 
E-test, find how many persons finished in from 20-29 
seconds, 30-39 seconds, etc. 1 

1 To economize time, the person in charge should construct the 
table on the board in cooperation with the class, each person in 
turn reading off his records. If the class is small, the records in 
Table I should be used in addition to the ones obtained. 



EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 
TABLE I 





>. 

u 

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6 


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4) 

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0, 

a 




■a 3 

g-s 

£ 0. 

Ota 


c 
.2 

•a 


c 





u 
+■» 

■9 

CO 


I 


9 


3' 45" 


SO" 


2' 20" 


1' 10" 


2' 


1' 5" 


50" 


2 


6 


3' 


50" 


2' 


2' 20" 


i' 10" 


45" 


35" 


3 


6 


2' 


45" 


3' 30" 


i' 45" 


1' 


1' 10" 


45" 


4 


7 


I' 50" 


45" 


1' 40" 


i' 5" 


i' 


1' 5" 


45" 


5 


6 


i' 30" 


1' 30" 


2' 15" 


1' 15" 


1' 15" 


1' 15" 


45" 


6 


5 


2' 


1' 30" 


3' 


3' 


i' 30" 


2' 


2' 


7 


7 


i' 


45" 


2' 30" 


i' 30" 


2' 


2' 30" 


3' 


8 


5 


2' 55" 


i' 


2' 4" 


i' 30" 


1' 


1' 


40" 


9 


5 


4' 


30" 


1' 40" 


1' 30" 


1' 


1' 


40" 


10 


7 


1' 30" 


35" 


3' 


I 7 30" 


2' 


I' 15" 


40" 


ii 


6 


I' 30" 


30" 


40" 


1' 


30" 


1' 


1' 


12 


5 


3' 


58" 


1' 35" 


1' 15" 


1' 10" 


1' 15" 


45" 


13 


5 


2' 


45" 


1' 30" 


i' 15" 


1' 10" 


i' 15" 


45" 


14 


7 


2' 


1' 


3' 


1' 


I' 35" 


1' 


i' 30" 


15 


5 


2' 


i' 15" 


2' 45" 


1' 10" 


1' 30" 


i' 20" 


45" 


16 


5 


2' 


1' 


3' 


1' 


1' 30" 


l' 


i' 30" 


17 


5 


3' 30" 


50" 


2' 


1' 15" 


i' 15" 


I 7 10" 


40" 


18 


5 


I' 30" 


30" 


1' 30" 


1' 20" 


1' 15" 


30" 


35" 


19 


7 


I' 20" 


30" 


1' 20" 


l'27" 


1' 


I' 


37" 


20 


6 


4' 15" 


45" 


2' 35" 


1' 


1' 10" 


40" 


45" 


21 


5 


3' 


45" 


1' 30" 


i' 10" 


1' 


i' 


45" 


22 


6 


4' 12" 


45" 


2' 


1' 


1' 20" 


40" 


19" 


23 


6 


2' 


30" 


T / 


i' 


55" 


35" 




24 


6 


2' 


5o" 


1' 35" 


1' 30" 


1' 


1' 20" 


5o" 


25 


6 


3' 


45" 


1' 30" 


1' 10" 


1' 


35" 


45" 


26 


7 


2' • 


30" 


2' 


45" 


45" 


50" 


40" 


27 


7 


2' 


5o" 


2' 


./ 


1' 


30" 


45" 


28 


6 


4' 


1' 30" 


i' 20" 


1' 20" 


i' 10" 


1' 


50" 


29 


6 


1' 30" 


50" 


4' 


3' 10" 


1' 


40" 


30" 


30 


7 


2' 20" 


50" 


4' 10" 


1' 30" 


1' 25" 


2' 30" 


i' 50" 


31 


7 


I' 30" 


45" 


3' 


1' 50" 


1' 10" 


_ / 


30" 


32 


6 


I' 30" 


50" 


2' 20" 


1' 50" 


i' 10" 


1' 10" 


1' 


33 


5 


2' 


45" 


I' 30" 


1' 35" 


1' 25" 


i' 22" 


1' 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 
TABLE I (Continued) 







bo 
C 
|n 

'£ 


a 
3 







O 


CO <u 

6c^ 


c 
.2 

*3 
■d 

< 


| 


34 


7 


i' 10" 


20" 


I' 40" 


I' 


52" 


24" 


20" 


35 


5 


3' 15" 


45" 


2' 30" 


1' 8" 


48" 


39" 


27" 


36 


7 


I' 45" 


48" 


3' 21" 


55" 


31" 


I' 52" 


2 r 26" 


37 


6 


3' 


i' 


2' 38" 


i' 25" 


i' 20" 


I' 20" 


38" 


38 


5 


2' 30" 


35" 


2' 


I' 5" 


I' 15" 


T / 


I' 


39 


5 


I' 28" 


43" 


4' 52" 


4' 20" 


I' 36" 


1' 16" 


45" 


40 


6 


I' 30" 


40" 


2' 15" 


i' 15" 


I' 20" 


30" 


25" 


4i 


6 


3' 


30" 


3' 10" 


2' 15" 


I' 30" 


1' 


30" 


42 


7 


1' 35" 


54" 


4' 4" 


i' 20" 


I' l6" 


1' 4" 


48" 


43 


7 


4' 


1' 15" 


3' 30" 


4' 


I' 30" 


46" 


45" 


44 


6 


3' 


30" 


1' 53" 


I' 20" 


I' 18" 


l' 10" 


55" 


45 


5 


1' 40" 


58" 


1' 20" 


i' 22" 


I' 15" 


i' 15" 


i' 2" 


46 


5 


4' 


_/ 


2' 


I' 50" 


I' 30" 


1' 30" 


58" 


47 


5 


2' 


30" 


4' 30" 


i' 20" 


I' 25" 


1' 18" 


46" 


48 


6 


1' 10" 


55" 


1' 10" 


I' 40" 


1' 55" 


1' 20" 


48" 



Fig. 1. — Memorizing;. 



IO EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Discuss the following questions: 

I. To which grade of ability do the majority of indi- 



Fig. 2 .— E Test. 



viduals in these tests belong, superior, medium, or 
inferior? 

2. If you divide the entire range of abilities into three 
equal parts, what proportion of individuals belong to each 
part? For example, what percentage of persons have a 
memory span of from four to five, six to seven, eight to 
nine? In this manner make a composite table of all the 
tests to show the percentage of persons in each third. 

3. On the basis of these distribution curves, would it 
be fair to divide a group of persons into, for example, 
two distinct groups, bright and dull? Why? 

4. How much better are the superior individuals than 
the inferior ones? For example, in the E test in Table I, 



INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES II 

the best record is 20 seconds, while the lowest is 1 minute, 
30 seconds. That is, the best one is four and one-half 
times as fast as the slowest one. Construct a table to 
show this comparison for all the tests. 

5. What application has the curve of distribution to the 
assignment of grades in school studies? 

The following are the grades of a class in psychology: 
86, 80, 86, 83, 78, 80, 88, 85, 82, 83, 86, 88, 84, 84, 88, S^ 
86, 88, 86, 83, 90, 86, 86, 86, 84, 80, 86, 80, 82, 78, 82, 88, 
86, 80, 86, 84, 93, 86, 68, 85, 84, 86, 84, 90, 88, 88, 86, 80, 
86, 93, 82, 88, 86, 90, 82, 78, 97, 75, 73, 78, 86, 86, 82, 86, 
88, 78, 80, 86, 82, 90, 70, 80, 90, 84, 82, 76, 86, 78, 84, 84, 
88, 83, 70, 86, 84, 82, 90, 82, 88, 78, 88, 90, 86, 86, 93, 78, 
86, 86, 90, 75, 86, 84, 76, 84, 76, 84, 75, 84, 86, 70, 90, 95, 
90, 84, 80, 93, 70, 82, 80, 84, S 3) 86, 83, 86, 86, 86, 84, 84, 
82, 86, 8$. 

Construct a distribution curve. Should this curve be 
similar in form to the curves obtained from the experi- 
ments? Why? What criticism of these grades can you 
suggest? 

6. One of the most significant facts of individual differ- 
ences is that persons ranking high in one ability are as a 
rule not equally superior in other abilities. A bright pupil 
in history may not be much above the average in arith- 
metic, and vice versa. 

In order to demonstrate in a rough way to what extent 
such relations or lack of relations between mental func- 
tions exist, draw a circle around each of the five best 
records made in each of the eight tests. How many 



12 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

persons, if any, come within the first five in all the tests? 
If a person's abilities are equally superior, or nearly so, 
in all the functions tested, all his records should be found 
among the first five. 

Indicate the five poorest records in each test by squares. 
Are the persons who make the poorest records in memor- 
izing the same as those who make the poorest in the other 
tests? How many are the same? Similarly, compare the 
memory span with the memorizing test, and likewise the 
other pairs of tests. 1 

For further practical exercises and applications to 
school work see Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, pp. 
98-104. 

1 The accurate way of representing relations between mental 
capacities is by means of the coefficient of correlation. See Thorn- 
dike, Educational Psychology, First Edition, p. 26. 



CHAPTER II 
VISUAL TESTS AND DEFECTS 

The eye is the most important avenue of information. 
The need of care in preventing abuse and in correcting 
defects is patent to everyone. Every teacher should know 
something of the common types of visual defects, and how 
to detect them. 

i. Far- and Near-Sightedness. In order to see an 
object distinctly the rays of light from that object must 
come to a sharp focus upon the retina. If not, the object 
appears blurred. 

a. The Function of Accommodation. Accommodation 
is the change in the shape of the crystalline lens in order 
to focus the image upon the retina. For a distant point 
the lens flattens and for a near point it bulges. 

Set the end of a ruler against the cheek below the right 
eye so that it points in the direction of sight. Close the 
left eye. Hold a pin (point upward) at a distance of 
about thirty centimetres so that the point can be seen 
distinctly. Then gradually slide it along the edge of the 
ruler toward the eye until it comes to the place where the 
point begins to blur. Slide it outward until the point 
again appears distinct. This is the near point of vision. 



13 



14 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Measure and record the distance from the eye. Make 
five measurements for the right and five for the left eye. 
For the normal eye, at the age of twenty, this distance 
is about twelve to fifteen centimetres. For the near- 
sighted eye it is less, and for the far-sighted eye it is 
more. 

Hold the pin at the distance just determined and set 
a page of print about twenty centimetres beyond the pin. 
Notice that as you focus on the pin the print appears 
blurred. As you focus on the print the pin appears 
blurred. Notice also the feeling of effort or strain in the 
eye as you shift from the print to the pin. 

In myopia, or near-sightedness, the eyeball usually is 
too long. The image is formed at a point in front of the 
retina. In hyperopia, or far-sightedness, the eyeball is 
ordinarily too short and the image would be formed at a 
point back of the retina. In the latter case it requires 
constant strain of the ciliary muscles to see near objects 
distinctly. 

Defects of accommodation are accentuated in large part 
by the effort and strain in the ciliary muscles which con- 
trol the lenses when looking at objects near by, as, for 
example, in reading. They may also be due to loss of 
elasticity in the lens or lack of responsiveness in the ciliary 
muscles. When the eyes are at rest they are focussed for 
distant points. Demonstrate this by closing your eyes 
for a few seconds, and then opening them. Notice that 
they are adjusted for distant objects and that it requires 
special effort to focus them upon the page in front of you. 



VISUAL TESTS AND DEFECTS 1 5 

b. Snellen's Test} Hang the chart on the wall in good 
light, but not in direct sunlight. Be seated directly in 
front of it at a distance of twenty feet. Test each eye 
separately. Hold a card in front of one eye while the other 
eye is being examined. Do not press against the eyeball. 
Begin at the top of the chart and read aloud down as far 
as you can. The experimenter stands near the chart 
and takes note of the errors. Record the results of each 
eye separately in terms of a fraction in which the num- 
erator is twenty and the denominator is the number at 
the right of the last line read correctly. Thus, if the 
fraction is f-J, it means that the last line read correctly 
is the one marked twenty feet, the distance at which the 
normal eye should be able to read it. If the fraction is 
Mi or less, the eye is probably near-sighted. If the 10 
or 1 5 feet lines can be read the eye is probably far-sighted. 
In either case, it should receive the attention of a phy- 
sician. 

It is well to use several different vision charts so that 
the letters may not be memorized. If only one chart is 
at hand the results should be verified by covering with two 
cards all the letters in a given line, except the one to be 
read. Expose the letters in irregular order. 

2. Astigmatism. Use the chart which has the radiating 
lines. These are numbered like the figures on a clock. 
Hang the chart in good light and sit at a distance of twenty 

1 Snellen's Vision Charts, Cogan's Prism Chart, and Holmgren's 
worsteds can be obtained from F. A. Hardy & Co., 131 Wabash 
Ave., Chicago. 



1 6 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

feet. Cover one eye with a card, while the other eye is 
being tested. Look at the chart and notice whether any 
of the radii appear darker. Record these by their num- 
bers. To the normal eye the radii should appear equally 
distinct. If they appear considerably different the eye is 
astigmatic. 

3. Strabismus, or Heterophoria. This includes all those 
defects which are due to the lack of proper coordination 
of the two eyeballs so that the two eyes do not converge 
simultaneously upon the same point. This condition is 
due to the fact that the external muscles of the eyes are 
not properly counterbalanced. The extreme form is 
commonly called cross-eyes. There are, however, many 
slight degrees of strabismus which can scarcely be noticed 
and yet have a very detrimental effect upon vision. The 
unbalanced eye receives a distorted image and the bur- 
den of sight falls upon the other eye. Demonstrate this 
by looking at some object, say a book, and pressing your 
finger against the lower side of one eyeball. Notice the 
distortion of vision. 

To detect the presence of strabismus, make the follow- 
ing test: Hang the Cogan Prism chart about six inches 
away from the wall. Place a lighted candle or lamp just 
back of the small opening at the centre of the chart. 
Take a position twenty feet from the chart so that the 
eyes are on a level with the aperture. The light must be 
seen directly through the opening. 

Close one eye and hold the red glass close before the 
other eye, so that the red image can be seen. Then look 



VISUAL TESTS AND DEFECTS I 7 

with both eyes at the flame and notice the location of the 
red image. Does it coincide with the yellow flame? If 
not, record its position in terms of the circles and radii of 
the chart. Shift the glass to the other eye and again 
record the position of the red image. If the eyes are in 
perfect balance the two images should coincide. If not, 
the degree and nature of the deviation will be indicated by 
the distance and direction of the red image from the 
yellow flame. 

4. Color-blindness. Take the three standard colors, 
labelled A, B, and C, of Holmgren's worsteds and place 
them on the table a foot or more apart. Select from the 
other worsteds all those which are like or similar to each 
of the three standards. Arrange the colors in each group 
in the order of their brightness. Do this as quickly as 
you can. Record the time required and the order of the 
worsteds by writing down their numbers in the order in 
which you arranged them. 

Defective color vision will be indicated by the long time 
required to arrange the worsteds and by the confusion 
of the colors. The grouping of the worsteds is correct if 
they are arranged in the order in which they are num- 
bered. Red-green blindness, the most common form, 
will be revealed by the confusion of the red and the green 
yarns. 

Discuss the following questions: 

1. What use may a teacher make of the knowledge of 
the visual defects of individual pupils? 

2. How may she assist such pupils? 



1 8 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

3. How would color-blindness be a drawback in school 
work? 

For further practical exercises see Thorndike, Princi- 
ples of Teaching, 17-20. O'Shea, Dynamic Factors in 
Education, Ch. 17. 



CHAPTER III 
AUDITORY TESTS AND DEFECTS 

The school is concerned with two auditory problems, 
acuity of hearing and discrimination of pitch. The former 
is of interest to every teacher, the latter is of importance 
primarily to the teacher of music. 

i. Acuity of Hearing. The problem is to determine 
whether an individual's hearing is normal or whether 
there is any degree of deafness present in either or 
both ears. Several forms of tests will be used. 

a. The Watch Test. Perform the experiment in a quiet 
room. The subject is seated on a chair. Fasten the zero 
end of a tape measure to the back of the chair just behind 
the ear to be tested. The other ear should be closed with 
cotton. Hold the watch so that it can be heard readily. 
Then gradually move it outward along the aural axis 
(the line passing through the two ears) until it can no 
longer be heard. Hold the tape with the other hand and 
measure the distance of the watch from the ear. Then 
begin from a position where it can not be heard and move 
it toward the ear. As soon as it can be heard, stop and 
measure the distance. Always hold the watch in the same 

19 



20 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

way with the same side toward the ear. Move it at the 
rate of about one inch per second. Make five in" and 
five "out" measurements for each ear in the double fatigue 
order, that is, three on the first ear, five on the second, 
and two more on the first. Average the results for each 
ear separately. 

The advantages of this test are that it is simple, con- 
venient, and sufficiently accurate for crude measurements. 
Its disadvantages are that watches differ and that the 
sound is rhythmic, which is apt to deceive the listener 
into hearing the ticking when he actually does not. In 
order to make the records of different persons compara- 
ble, the same watch should be used. 1 

b. Seashore's Audiometer. This is an accurate, con- 
venient instrument, and on the whole the best for measur- 
ing acuity of hearing. 2 

Adjust the strength of the electric current by means of 
the resistance plugs and the galvanometer until the needle 
of the latter rests on the central cross bar. Connect the 
receiver with the audiometer and mount it on a tripod 
in another room. The subject is seated so that the ear 

x The Politzer acoumeter may be used in exactly the same 
manner as the watch. The sound in this instrument is produced by 
a small metallic hammer. It is superior to the watch in that the 
stimuli are uniform and can be produced at will. 

2 A description of this apparatus may be found in the Univ. of 
Iowa Studies in Psych., 1898, II., 158-163. It consists essentially 
of a series of induction coils by which the stimulus can be varied 
from very weak to moderately strong intensities. The instrument 
can be obtained from C. H. Stoelting Co., 121 N. Green St., Chi- 
cago. 



AUDITORY TESTS AND DEFECTS 21 

can be held as close as possible to the receiver without 
touching it. A key and telegraph sounder should be 
set up, the former being placed in the hands of the subject 
and the latter in the room with the audiometer. The 
subject responds on this key whenever he hears the stim- 
ulus from the receiver. 

The sliding key on the audiometer is for the purpose 
of changing the intensity of the stimulus. To make the 
measurements, begin with a sound which can easily be 
heard. Diminish the intensity of the stimulus step by 
step until the subject no longer responds. Give the stimuli 
at irregular intervals of from three to six seconds, so that 
the subject may not tend to respond rhythmically. 
Record the last sound heard. Begin several units below 
this point and increase the intensity of the stimuli until 
the subject again responds. Record the first one heard. 
In this manner make five measurements on each ear in 
the double fatigue order. Average the results. Compare 
them with the watch test. Is the acuity of the two ears 
the same? 

c. The Whisper Test. This test may be omitted, but it 
is introduced here because it is often a serviceable method 
in the school-room. The pupil is stationed at a distance 
of fifteen or twenty feet from the examiner with one ear 
toward him. Then a series of twenty-five words, prefer- 
ably numbers, are spoken in a whispered voice. After 
each word the child writes down what he heard. Ten or 
twelve pupils may easily be tested at one time. Then 
the pupil turns so that the other ear is toward the exam- 



22 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

iner and the test is repeated. After the test, the pupil's 
list is compared with the examiner's list, and the per- 
centage of errors determined. It requires some practice 
on the part of the examiner to whisper the words fairly 
uniformly. The results are entirely relative, and different 
pupils must be compared with one another. The pupil 
who has considerably more than the average percentage 
of errors should receive medical attention. The one great 
advantage of the whisper experiment is that it tests 
hearing of conversational speech, which is not the case 
when mechanical stimuli are used. 

2. Discrimination of Pitch. One of the essentials for 
musical training is the capacity to make fine discrimina- 
tions of pitch. A convenient and accurate method of 
testing musical discrimination is afforded by a series of 
eleven graded tuning-forks l which range in pitch from 
435 vibrations (the standard) to 465 vibrations. The 
forks between these limits are graded in the following 
order, each being so many vibrations higher than the 
standard: y 2 , 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 17, 23, 30. 

Mount a speaking-tube so that the subject may hold 
one end of it to his ear. The experimenter holds the 

1 This series can be prepared from a set of A forks whose prongs 
are approximately three and a half inches long. They can be ob- 
tained through any music dealer. One of the forks is selected as 
standard and the others are tuned according to the required interval 
above the standard by filing the ends of the prongs until they have 
the desired pitch. They can be tuned accurately by comparing each 
fork with the standard and with one another and counting the beats. 
This method of testing was first devised by Seashore. See Univ. of 
Iowa Studies in Psych., II., 55-64. 



AUDITORY TESTS AND DEFECTS 23 

vibrating forks at the other end of the tube. If no speak- 
ing tube is at hand, the forks may be held close to the ear. 
Or, better, roll a sheet of paper to make a tube an inch 
in diameter and hold that to the ear. The stimuli can 
thus be given more uniformly than by holding the forks 
to the ear. 

The experimenter strikes the standard and the highest 
fork and holds them in rapid succession before the tube. 
They should be struck as uniformly as possible and held to 
the tube not longer than two or three seconds, with as 
short an interval between the two forks to be compared 
as possible. The subject indicates whether the second is 
higher or lower than the first. If the answer is correct the 
standard and the twenty-three fork are compared in the 
same manner. If that judgment is correct, the standard 
and the seventeen fork are taken, and so on until the 
subject makes a mistake. Then, with these two forks, 
make twenty trials and record each judgment as right or 
wrong. If less than seventy per cent, of the answers are 
correct, make twenty trials with the standard and the 
fork next above the one just used. If more than eighty 
per cent, are correct, make twenty trials with the standard 
and the fork next below the one used. The two forks 
with which approximately seventy-five per cent, of the 
answers are correct may then be regarded as the measure 
of the threshold of pitch discrimination. An average is 
difficult to give because individuals differ greatly in this 
respect. For university students the average is between 
five and eight vibrations. 



24 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Discuss the following questions: 

i . In what ways may the teacher assist a deaf pupil ? 
A pupil deaf in one ear only ? 

2. What changes would you suggest to be made in the 
musical instruction of a pupil who has poor discrimina- 
tion of pitch? i 

1 Cf. Seashore, Educational Review, Vol. 22, p. 75. 



CHAPTER IV 

MENTAL IMAGES 

The problem is to determine the relative predomi- 
nance of the different types of mental images. 1 

i. The Frequency of Different Classes of Mental 
Images. Determine this by the association method in the 
following manner. The material to be used consists of 
the columns of words printed below. Cover with a piece 
of paper all the words except the first column. With 
another piece of paper cover this column also. Slide it 
down far enough to expose the first word. Then in a 
short sentence write in your notebook an answer to this 
question, " What do you think of as soon as you see that 
word?" For example, if the word is " grass," it might 
suggest at once imagery of this kind, " I think at once of 
the green appearance of a meadow." Or, if the word is 
" shoe," it might suggest such an answer as this, " I 
think of the pinching of my new shoe." Do not try to 
make a selection, but write down whatever comes to your 
mind first. Write your answer quickly and proceed to 

1 The student should be familiar with the meaning and nature of 
mental images. Some standard text on psychology may be consulted, 
e. g. James, Psychology, Chap. 19; or Angell, Psychology, Chap. 8. 

25 



26 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

the next word by sliding the paper down to expose it. 
Answer the same question with regard to this word. 
Similarly, work through the entire list of words. Num- 
ber your answers. Keep all the columns covered except 
the one you are using. The purpose of this is to avoid 
as far as possible the associations with other words except 
the one before you. 



Nouns 
i. bell 

2. piano 

3. railroad 

4. music 

5. storm 

6. clock 

7. hammer 

8. drum 

9. wagon 
10. dog 



II 

Verbs 

1. whistle 

2. sing 

3. knock 

4. cry 

5. laugh 

6. hiss 

7. rattle 

8. bark 

9. march 
10. whisper 



III 

Nouns 

1. iron 

2. stove 

3. knife 

4. cap 

5. needle 

6. snow 

7. soap 

8. brush 

9. wool 
10. apple 



IV 

Verbs 

1. couch 

2. walk 

3. burn 

4. run 

5. sting 

6. write 

7. bite 

8. pull 

9. lift 
10. fall 



Put the results in the form of a table showing how many 
of the forty words aroused visual images, auditory, motor, 
tactile, etc. In the illustrations given above, " grass " 
brought out visual images, " shoe " at once suggested 
tactile images, etc. Calculate the percentage of each 
class. 1 

1 Pfeiffer, L., Ueber Vorstellungstypen, Padagogische Monograph - 
ien, 1907, Leipzig. 



MENTAL IMAGES 27 









TABLE 


II 








FREQUENCY OF 


THE DIFFERENT CLASSES 


OF IMAGES OF 








TWENTY-SIX 


PERSONS 










Visual 


Auditory 


Motor 


Tactile 


Miscellaneous 


I.. 




25 


9 


6 






2.. 




37 


2 


I 






3-- 




18 


10 


7 


5 




4.. 




26 


8 


4 


1 




5-- 




25 


9 


3 


1 


2 


6.. 




15 


12 


4 


9 




7-- 




16 


13 


6 


5 




8. 




19 


14 


5 


2 




9-- 




19 


9 


7 


1 


4 


10. . 




24 


7 


6 






11.. 




15 


13 


2 


10 




12. . 




36 


4 








13- • 




15 


10 


5 


10 




14.. 




20 


10 


8 


2 




I5-- 




28 


9 


2 


1 




16.. 




3i 


6 


1 


1 


1 


17.. 




16 


8 


7 


3 


6 


18.. 




15 


8 


8 


8 


I 


19.. 




16 


10 


10 


4 




20. . 




19 
15 


5 
10 


10 


5 
6 




21. . 




8 


1 


22.. 




23 


11 


1 


5 




23-- 




12 


11 


11 


6 




24.. 




16 


10 


10 


4 




25-- 




12 


12 


9 


5 


2 


26.. 




17 


11 


8 


3 


1 


Averages. . 


20.4 


9-3 


5-8 


3.8 


•7 


Percentages 


5i. 


23-3 


14-5 


9-5 


1.7 



2. The Vividness of Mental Images. This is to be 

determined by an introspective questionnaire. Use the 

following list of questions. 1 

1 From Seashore, Elementary Experiments in Psychology, 106- 
iii, by permission of Henry Holt & Co. and the author. 



28 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

" This is a distinct exercise in introspection. It is best 
to keep the eyes closed as you introspect. If the observer 
-does not have strong imagery he may be lost in the effort 
to create an image out of the retinal light. To avoid this, 
it is best to think of the object as in a distant place; for 
example, the rose on the bush. 

" Sometimes the image comes in the most realistic way 
when it comes without effort as a sort of a reverie image 
which passes the mental horizon. As a rule, it is best not 
to direct the attention primarily to the detail of the image, 
but rather to the effort to recall the fact; when the fact 
comes into consciousness the character of the image may 
be observed. 

" Fix clearly in mind and use as consistently as possible 
the following scale of degrees of vividness: 

o. No image at all. 
i. Very faint. 

2. Faint. 

3. Fairly vivid. 

4. Vivid. 

5. Very vivid. 

6. As vivid as in perception. 

" Answer the following questions by writing after the 
number of the question the number which denotes the 
degree of vividness characteristic of your image. Instead 
of taking the questions in the order given, follow the order: 
I-i, II-i, III-i, IV-i, V-i, VI-i, VII-i, VIII-i, I-2, II-2, 
III-2, IV-2, etc., I-3, II-3, HI-3, IV-3, etc. Introspective 



MENTAL IMAGES 29 

notes to supplement the numerical answers are very 
desirable. 

1. Visual. — 1. Can you image the color of — (a) A red 
rose? (b) A green leaf? (c) A yellow ribbon? (d) A 
blue sky? 

2. Can you image the brightness of — (a) A white tea- 
cup? (b) A black crow? (c) A gray stone? (d) The 
blade of a knife? 

3. Can you image the form of — (a) The rose? (b) The 
leaf? (c) The teacup? (d) The knife? 

4. Can you form a visual image of — (a) A moving ex- 
press train? (b) Your sharpening of a pencil? (c) An 
up-and-down movement of your tongue? 

5. Can you image simultaneously — (a) A group of col- 
ors in a bunch of sweet peas? (b) Colors, forms, bright- 
nesses, and movements in a lansdcape view? 

6. Can you compare in a visual image — (a) The color 
of cream and the color of milk? (b) The tint of one of 
your finger-nails with that of the palm of your hand? 

7. Can you hold fairly constant for ten seconds — (a) 
The color of the rose? (b) The form of the rose? 

II. Auditory. — 1. Can you image the sound of — (a) 
The report of a gun? (b) The clinking of glasses? (c) 
The ringing of church bells? (d) The hum of bees? 

2. Can you image the characteristic tone quality of — 
(a) A violin? (b) A cello? (c) A flute? (d) A cornet? 

3. Can you repeat in auditory imagery the air of — (a) 
Yankee Doodle? (b) America? 

4. Can you fonB auditory images of the intensity of a 



30 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

violin tone — (a) very strong; (b) strong; (c) weak; (d) 
very weak? 

5. Can you form auditory imagery of the rhythm of — 

(a) The snare-drum? (b) The bass-drum? (c) ' Dixie/ 
or other air heard played? (d) Tell me not in mourn- 
ful numbers ' spoken by yourself ? 

III. Motor. — 1. Can you image, in motor terms, your- 
self — (a) Rocking in a chair? (b) Walking down a stair- 
way? (c) Biting a lump of sugar? (d) Clenching your 
fist? 

2. Does motor imagery arise in your mind when you 
recall — (a) A waterfall? (b) A facial expression of fear? 
(c) The bleating of sheep? (d) Two boys on a teeter- 
board? 

3. Aside from the actual inceptive movements, do you 
get motor imagery when recalling — (a) A very high tone? 

(b) A very low tone? (c) Words like Paderewski/ 
« bubble,' ' tete-a-tete/ ' Hurrah!'? 

4. Can you form motor images of — (a) An inch? (b) 
A yard? (c) A mile? 

5. Can you form a motor image of — (a) The weight of 
a pound of butter? (b) Your speed in running a race? 

(c) The speed of an arrow? 

IV. Tactual. — 1. Can you form a tactual image of the 
pressure of — (a) Velvet? (b) Smooth glass? (c) Sand- 
paper? (d) Mud? 

2. Can you form tactual imagery of the following im- 
pressions made in the palm of your hand — (a) The size 
of a certain coin? (b) The form of the same coin? (c) 



MENTAL IMAGES 31 

The direction of a line traced by a pencil point? (d) The 
intermittent touch of a vibrating body? 

3. Can you form tactual imagery of — (a) The flow of 
water against the finger? (b) The sensation from a pres- 
sure spot? (c) The weight of a particular coin in the 
hand? 

V. Olfactory. — i. Can you image the odor of — (a) Cof- 
fee? (b) Camphor? (c) An onion? (d) Apple-blossoms? 

2. Can you image odors from — (a) A meadow? (b) 
A confectioner's shop? 

VI. Gustatory. — 1. Can you image the taste of — (a) 
Sugar? (b) Salt? (c) Vinegar? (d) Quinine? 

2. Can you image the taste of — (a) An apple? (b) A 
chocolate cake? (c) Beefsteak? 

VII. Thermal. — 1. Can you image the coldness of — (a) 
Ice cream? (b) A draught of cold air? (c) The sensa- 
tion from the stimulation of a cold spot? 

2. Can you image the warmth of — (a) Hot tea? (b) A 
warm poker? (c) A warm bath? (d) The sensation from 
the stimulation of a warm spot? 

VIII. Pain. — 1. Can you secure a sensory image of the 
pain of — (a) The prick of a pin? (b) Running your finger 
along the edge of a sharp knife? (c) A toothache or head- 
ache? (d) The stimulation of a pain spot?" 

Find the average for each of the eight classes of images 
and plot a curve as in Fig. 3, in which the horizontal line 
represents the types of images and the vertical line the 
averages of their vividness. 

3. Another method which is useful primarily to dis- 



32 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



s 








4 




r~i 


3 


r— - 


_j — i 1 ' — i : : 




; — . fc — * i — i 


«? 


! ,-— , ,— ■ i 


i 


/ 


: ; ! 

! i j 


\ 
i 
i 
i 




1 





I I 1 I 1111 



Fig. 3. — Records of Two Persons 



tinguish the visualizer from the auditory-motor individual 
is as follows: 

Commit to memory the accompanying pattern of letters 
by reading from left to right. 

k n p 

s o h 

g r w 
Lay the book aside and attempt to recall the three ver- 
tical columns beginning at the bottom. Then recall the 
diagonals beginning at the left, then the vertical columns 
beginning at the top, and finally the horizontal lines be- 
ginning at the right. Are you able to do this without 
having to repeat the letters until you come to the desired 
one? For example, in recalling the vertical columns from 
below, do you have to repeat the letters until you come 
to the first one in the last line? Or can you visualize the 
entire pattern and read off, as it were, from the mental 
picture the particular succession of letters called for? 
The latter person would be predominantly a visualizer, 



MENTAL IMAGES 33 

while the former would be predominantly an auditory- 
motor person. 

Discuss these questions: 

i. In which school studies and exercises would strong 
visual imagery be a distinct advantage? Motor imagery? 

2. What advantage might there be for a teacher to 
know what her dominant class of imagery is? If a 
person is strongly of one type, illustrations and explana- 
tions in teaching are apt to be taken from that field of 
imagery. How would these affect pupils of a distinctly 
different type? 

3. Would it be advisable to separate pupils into differ- 
ent classes according to their prevailing imagery? See 
Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, 89. 

4. Is it advisable to appeal to only one type of imagery 
in teaching? 



CHAPTER V 
THE TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD OF LEARNING 

Types of Methods. There are three methods by which 
the doing of a definite act may be learned. 

a. By trial and error, that is, by making random 
attempts until by chance some attempts are successful. 

b. By imitation, that is, by observing the performance 
of the act and then attempting to copy it. 

c. By reasoning, that is, by attempting to think it out 
and then proceeding accordingly. 

The most fundamental of these is the trial and error 
method. The acquisition of all motor control is accom- 
plished primarily by this method. The others serve only 
as supplementary aids. For example, in learning to strike 
a ball with a bat the boy begins by attempting to strike it. 
He will probably not even succeed in touching it until 
after several attempts, when the ball and bat happen to 
meet. As he continues, the successful trials become more 
and more frequent, while the failures gradually diminish. 
Learning to strike the ball may possibly be facilitated 
by observing and imitating an expert batter, but the 
attempt to reason as to how to strike would probably be 
of little or no assistance in this particular case. 

34 



THE TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD OF LEARNING 35 

The Problem of the Experiment is to demonstrate the 
trial and error method of learning, its nature and sig- 
nificance in learning to coordinate perceptual and motor 
factors. To show this satisfactorily it is necessary to 
test the process of learning a relatively new and undevel- 
oped act. For this purpose we shall use mirror writing. 
This consists essentially in the establishment of a new 
connection between hand movements and the visual per- 
ception of these movements as seen in a mirror. 

Material and Apparatus. Prepare the following material 
for the experiment: Lay a piece of cardboard back of 
Fig. 4. Prick through the page with a pin at the apexes 
of the twelve angles of the star outline. Connect these 
points with straight lines and then trim the card to pro- 
duce a six-pointed star pattern. Lay the pattern on a 
sheet of paper and trace a line around it, making an out- 
line like Fig. 4. Insert the arrow and cross line in their 
appropriate places. Draw eleven such outlines, each on 
a separate sheet of paper. 1 

Set a mirror on the table about eighteen inches from 
you and facing toward you. Set it in a vertical position 
and at right angles to your median plane. The mirror 
must be at least six by six inches. It may be held in 
position by means of books or other convenient objects 
placed against it. The face of the mirror, however, must 
be left free. 

Procedure. Lay one of the star outlines on the table 

1 In order to economize time, it is well to have a rubber stamp 
made by means of which the patterns may be prepared quickly. 



36 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

just in front of the mirror so that the arrow is nearest 
the mirror. Fasten the sheet to the table with two pins. 
By means of a pencil trace with the left hand just one-half 





Fig. 



of this outline. Begin at the crossbar and go in the 
direction in which the arrow points. Record on this 
outline the exact time in seconds which it took to trace 
this half. Also label it properly as being the first half 
done with the left hand. Lay this sheet aside. Then trace 
with the right hand the remaining ten outlines, doing each 
one completely. Number them in the order in which 



THE TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD OF LEARNING 37 

you do them. Record on each the time required to do 
the tracing of that particular outline. 

Observe your hand only in the mirror. Never observe 
it directly. To guard against this a piece of cardboard 
can easily be clamped to a tripod to intercept the direct 
view. Follow the line as closely as possible. As soon as 
you notice that the pencil is beside the line, attempt to 
get back. In doing this, do not lift the pencil from the 
paper. The first tracing will usually be difficult . It is 
therefore important to persist. 

Results. Construct a table to show (a) the time in 
seconds required for each tracing, and (b) the number of 
errors made in each tracing. By an error is meant a 
correcting movement as shown in Fig. 5. Each attempt 
to return to the line, whether successful or not, is counted 
as an error. Plot the results in two curves, placing the 




Fig. 5. 



38 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

number of trials on the horizontal line and the time and 
errors on the vertical line. See Fig. 6. 

Discuss the following points: 

1. Examine the two or three places in your first tracing 




Fig. 6. 

which were especially difficult, such as are shown in Fig. 5, 
where a large number of random movements were made in 
all directions. Did you find in these difficult places that 
the determination to move in a certain desired direction 
resulted in movement in that direction? Or, did you find 
that you were about as apt to go in some other direction ? 
The experiment shows that you learn to trace the line 
by the "try, try again " method. Thinking, or making 
up your mind to move here or there gives little or no 
assistance, 



THE TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD OF LEARNING 39 

2. Did you notice any feeling of pleasure or satisfaction 
when you were successful in returning to the line? If so, 
in what way would that help in the later records? 

3. In what respect is your process of learning in this 
experiment similar to a child's learning to write? 

4. Is the latter more difficult for the child than the 
former is for you? If so, why? 

The importance of the method of trial and error in the 
development of the motor life of the child is exceedingly 
great. We can realize its significance only when we 
remember that all of the activities which involve muscular 
coordination are acquired by this method. It is in this 
manner, for example, that the child learns to reach suc- 
cessfully for an object before him. Many random attempts 
to reach are made until the hand grasps the object. 
He learns to walk, to control his head, to move the arms 
and fingers in desired ways largely by trial and error. Of 
course, for many of these activities there are instinctive 
tendencies, but these are for the most part indefinite and 
often consist of little more than a great abundance of 
impulses to act. 

It seems, therefore, important that the teacher should 
know the nature and meaning of the trial and error method, 
that she should realize its fundamental importance in the 
development of child life, that she should understand what 
school exercises are learned wholly or largely by this 
method and which can be acquired more quickly by stim- 
ulating other modes of learning, and that she should 
appreciate something of the difficulty in acquiring accu- 



4© EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

rate muscular control such as is involved in, for example, 
learning to write. 

For more complete discussion of the practical and 
theoretical bearings of this mode of learning the following 
references may be consulted: Kirkpatrick, Fundamentals 
of Child Study, pp. 81-86. O'Shea, Dynamic Factors 
in Education, pp. 110-121. Bagley, The Educative 
Process, pp. 242-243. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 

i. Rate of Improvement 

The Problem is to determine (a) the general rate of 
improvement, (b) whether improvement progresses at a 
uniform rate from beginning to end, and if not, when it 
is most rapid and when least rapid, (c) whether there 
are periods of improvement and retardation, and (d) the 
effect of a long interval of rest. 

For the investigation of these problems the type of 
learning begun in the last experiment will be continued. 
It is well adapted to this purpose for the reason that a 
considerable amount of improvement can be accomplished 
in a relatively short period of time and for the reason that 
considerable practice has already been attained in it. 

Material. Prepare twenty-five star outlines as directed 
in the last chapter. 

Procedure. Continue the mirror tracing exactly as 
directed before. Try to improve as rapidly as you can, 
both in the time and accuracy of tracing. In order to 
avoid the disturbing effect of fatigue it is well to alternate 
the preparation of the outlines with the tracing. For 
example, prepare five outlines, then trace five, etc. Num- 

41 



42 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

ber the tracings in the order in which you do them. 
Record on each the exact time required to trace it. After 
all the tracings are done return to the one begun with the 
left hand and finish the remaining half. 

Results. Construct a table showing the time and errors 
of each record. Plot curves from these data, making them 
continuous with the curves drawn of the ten records made 
in the preceding chapter. Indicate the points of junction 
by short cross lines. Calculate the percentage of improve- 
ment, comparing the last right-hand tracing with the first. 
Do the same for the two left-hand outlines. 

State your conclusions, and in connection with these 
discuss the following points: 

i. Which part of the curve shows the most rapid im- 
provement? Would you expect to find the same fact in 
all forms of learning? 

2. Is there any indication of periods of more rapid 
improvement followed by periods of little or no improve- 
ment, or possibly even loss? What explanation can you 
suggest? 

If no distinct periods or " plateaus " are recognizable, 
it is probably due to the fact that the practice has not 
been continued long enough. These " plateaus " can 
be seen in Fig. 6, which represents one hundred tracings 
made at the rate of one a day for one hundred consec- 
utive days. 

3. Does the time curve show improvement at the same 
or at different periods from the error curve? For example, 
in Fig. 6 the two curves show parallel improvement during 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 43 

the first rapid period of learning. After that the error 
curve continues to improve, while the time curve actually 
shows a loss until the former has reached its " dead level," 
after which the time curve begins to drop again. This 
would indicate that a plateau shows lack of improvement 
only in the particular phase of the learning process repre- 
sented by that particular curve, and that there is more 
rapid development in some other phase of the process. 

4. Examine the individual records to see whether im- 
provement in time is more frequently accompanied by 
little or no improvement in errors than by distinct reduc- 
tion of errors. 

5. What is the effect of the long interval between the 
tenth and eleventh records, that is, the last record of the 
preceding chapter and the first of this one? 

6. Compare the improvement, of the left hand with the 
right hand. How do you explain it? What significance 
might this have for the spread of practice? 

2. Factors Affecting the Rate of Learning. Selecting 
the Successful Trials 

Problem. The progress of learning depends largely 
upon the selection of the successful acts and the corre- 
sponding diminution of the random and unsuccessful acts. 
Whatever factors condition the emphasis and selection of 
the successful trials promote the rapidity of learning. 

The problem of this experiment is to determine the 
effect of selecting the successful acts. For this purpose 



44 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

we shall compare a process of practice in which such selec- 
tion is present, with practice from which it is absent. 

Material. Several sheets of paper and a pencil. 

Procedure. Close your eyes and draw with the right 
hand twenty-five circles approximately two centimetres 
in diameter. The arm should not rest upon the table, 
but should be supported entirely from the shoulder. The 
aim in drawing is to make complete circles. Attempt to 
stop as nearly as possible at the point from which you 
started. The distance between these two points will be 
considered the error. Draw slowly and carefully, taking 
from five to ten seconds for each circle. Make the circles 
in rows either across the page or down the page, in order 
that you may know later the exact order in which they 
were drawn. It is important to keep the eyes closed during 
the entire task. After you have drawn the last circle 
turn over your sheet and lay it aside, before you open 
your eyes. 

On the next sheet draw another series of twenty-five 
circles. In this series open your eyes between the con- 
secutive drawings, to see the circle just drawn, but keep 
the eyes closed while the circles are being drawn. It is 
important to draw slowly and carefully. 

Results. Measure the error in each circle by measuring 
in millimetres the distance between the beginning point 
and the ending point. Construct separate tables for the 
two series. Average the errors by groups of fives as shown 
in Table III. From these averages plot curves as shown 
in Fig. 7 and designate them as series I and II. 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



45 







TABLE III 










EYES CLOSED 






ist 5 


2nd 5 


3rd 5 


4th 5 


5th 5 


4 mm. 


4 


5 


IO 


9 


8 


5 


9 


6 


7 


6 


5 


6 


7 


4 


4 


4 


5 


5 


5 


4 


5 


5 


i 


6 



5-2 



5 
5 
6 

4 
3 

4.6 



4.6 



6.o 



5-8 



EYES OPEN BETWEEN TRIALS 



2 

4 
3 
o 

2 
2.2 



2 

2 

6 

2 

2 

2.8 



2 

4 
3 
o 
o 

1.8 



6.2 



o 

3 

i 
i 
i 

1.2 



Series I 



— f | Series JL 



J 10 15 EO Z5 

Fig. 7. 

i. How do these series compare? What inference would 
you make with regard to learning with the knowledge of 



46 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

one's progress as compared with learning without the 
knowledge of one's progress? 

2. Should written work and examination papers be 
returned to the pupils? Should the degree of success be 
indicated? What reason can you give for pointing out 
the commendable as well as the erroneous points? 



CHAPTER VII 
THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING (Continued) 

Problem. In the experiments performed thus far the 
learning process consisted mainly in the formation of 
motor and perceptual coordinations. In the following 
experiment the learning will consist in the establishment 
of associations between two classes of visual symbols, 
both of which are perfectly familiar in themselves. The 
motor coordinations to express these symbols are also 
well established. 

The specific problems are (a) to study the progress of 
learning in this new field and to compare it with the pre- 
ceding type, (b) to find further factors which influence 
the rapidity of learning, such as the length of different 
periods of work and of different periods of rest, mental 
and physical conditions, etc. Incidentally we shall also 
obtain data on the transference of training, which will 
be used later. 

The Material is supplied in the following pages. It 
consists of sets of pages headed with an imitation type- 

47 



48 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

writer key-board. 1 Each letter of the alphabet is enclosed 
with a number in a circle. Below this " key-board " is 
the reading matter which is to be transcribed. This read- 
ing matter is different on the various pages. 

Procedure. The task of the experiment consists in 
substituting the numbers for the letters in the spaces 
below. In order to obtain data in regard to the influence 
of intervals and lengths of work periods, it is necessary 
to divide the class into three equal groups. 2 One group 
should work for ten minutes at a time twice a day with an 
interval of at least five hours between the two periods. 
The second group should work for twenty minutes once 
a day, and the third group should work for forty minutes 
every other day. Each person should continue the work 
for six days. The group working every other day should 
work on the first, third, and fifth day. The total time 
in each group will be 120 minutes. The periods of work 
should be as nearly as possible at the same time of the 
day. Record in the proper places in the margin the date 
and time of day. No effort should be made during the 
intervening intervals to memorize the numbers and their 
letters. Do not leave blank spaces between the words 
in making the substitutions. Begin a new line for each 
line of print, always using the line of spaces opposite the 
line of print. In case of those letters for which two digits 
must be written, for example 18, both digits should be 

1 This type of substitution test was originally devised several years 
ago by Jastrow. 

2 Each group should contain at least ten persons. If the class is 
small it had better be divided into two groups only. 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 49 

placed in one square. Work as rapidly as you can with- 
out making errors. Do not stop to correct errors if you 
make any. Have a watch on the table before you and 
make a check mark at the end of every five minutes. In 
order that this may be done with as little disturbance as 
possible, begin work when the minute hand is on a num- 
ber. After each period of work record any observations 
that may bear upon the experiment. Note your general 
mental and physical condition. Note in particular during 
the course of the learning (a) the time when you know 
the first numbers without consulting the key-board, (b) 

the time when the first complete words can be written 
i — 

without consulting the key-board, and (c) the time when 
you know all or practically all substitutions. 



SO EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 




84,976 












79,821 












63,442 












21,629 












57,183 












32,761 












95,146 












28,349 












73,862 










91,563 

L_ — - — — 













THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING $1 

In order to obtain data on the transference of practice, 
perform the following test before undertaking the above 
learning. Substitute as quickly as you can the symbols 
for the numbers on page 50. Record the exact length 
of time required to do this. After completing the reg- 
ular substitution experiment repeat the same test using 
the material on page 68. Record the time. Preserve 
these " before " and " after " tests for use in a later 
chapter. 



52 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



II 1 1 


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And now leaving these life 
failures, as I may call them, 
I will ask why there are so 
many failures at the 
university (it is the 
privilege of the preacher to 
wander from one topic to 
another, in the hope that he 
may say something which 
comes home to the minds of 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



53 



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54 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 







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of diet and exercise are hardly 
thought of by them. " I can 
work so much better at night " 
is the constant reply to the 
physician or elder friend who 
remonstrates; and they are 
apt to be assured that no 
practice which is pleasant to 
them can ever be injurious to 
health. They find the memory 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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56 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



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own health and morals is the 
greatest trust which is com- 
mitted to a young man; and 
often and often the loss of 
ability, the degeneracy of 
character, the want of self- 
control is due to his neglect 
of them. 

There are other ways in 
which this want of self- 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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58 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 







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take the pains to be cured; 
the inaccurate, desultory 
knowledge of many things is 
more acceptable to his mind 
than the accurate knowledge 
of a few, and so he grows up 
and goes into life unfit for any 
intellectual calling, unfit 
for any business or profes- 
sion. Then again there is 



THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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aa well as in Classics, in 
Natural Science as well as in 
Literature, in Law aa well aa 
in History; there are 
students who have no power 
of thinking, no clear recol- 
lection of what they have 
read, no exact perception of 
the meaning of words. 

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THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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who are always dreaming of 
full theatres, of audiences 
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would like to receive for all 
their actions the accompany- 
ing meed of approbation. A 
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THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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very best lesson which he has 
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by a little innocent merriment 
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THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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66 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 







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little or no attention to the 
most important of all 
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THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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68 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 




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THE PROGRESS OF LEARNING 



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Fig. 8. 



Results. Count the number of substitutions made 
during each five-minute period. Construct a table show- 
ing in different columns the date and time of day, the 
number of substitutions for each five-minute period, and 
brief introspective comments. Plot a curve in which the 
five-minute periods are represented on the horizontal line 
and the number of substitutions on the vertical line. See 
Fig. 8. 

State your conclusions and discuss the following points : 

1. Compare your curve with the curve obtained on the 

basis of the mirror tracings, particularly with regard to 

the rate of learning, rapid improvement at first and slower 

progress after that. 



70 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

2. Does the present curve reveal any plateaus? How 
many? 

3. Can you trace any connection between these stages 
and your introspective notes? For instance, between your 
general physical and mental condition and retardation 
or rapid learning. If your curve has distinct stages, notice 
particularly whether these coincide with the times, for 
example, when you first knew all the substitutions, or 
when you were able to write complete words and phrases 
without consulting the key-board. 

4. What significance do the plateaus have in the learn- 
ing process? 

See Swift, Mind in the Making, pp. 206-218. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 

Problem. The object of this experiment is to determine 
(a) to what extent, if at all, special training in one mental 
function improves other mental functions, and (b) to find 
some of the factors in such transference. 1 

The Material for this experiment is supplied on the 
following pages. Do not read or examine any of it until 
you are ready to use it, and then concern yourself only 
with that portion of it which you are about to use. In 
order to insure this condition, cover with a sheet of paper 
all material which is not used at the time. 

Procedure. The usual method of determining by experi- 
ment the transference of training is to test a variety of 
mental functions, then to undertake a long course of train- 
ing in one specific direction and finally to test again the 
same functions as were tested before the training. The 

x The problems involved in the transfeience of training are 
usually discussed in educational literature under the heading of 
formal discipline, which is the doctrine that the mental discipline 
gained in the pursuance of school studies improves one's ability to 
perform other activities. 

7i 



72 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

long practice course is called the training series, and the 
short tests performed before and after the practice are 
called the test series, or end tests. 
\ In this experiment the test series consists of: 

a. A test of immediate auditory memory. 

b. Learning French vocabulary. 

c. Memorizing a group of ten syllables. 

d. Memorizing a stanza of poetry. 

The training series consists in learning Italian vocab- 
ulary. 

Proceed as follows: 

a. The span of immediate auditory memory is to be 
tested in the same manner as in Chapter I, except that 
the following groups of letters are to be used instead of 
words. These groups should be read to the class at the 
rate of one letter per second, reading one group at a time 
and presenting the groups in order of size, from the small- 
est to the largest. After a group has been read the class 
writes down immediately all the letters remembered of 
that group and in the order in which they were presented. 

1 p k r 

b s y g n 

k f c q m d 

h b n f t v x 

lprdmhck 

qwfrbhpmt 

dlznqjsvrf 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 



73 



b. Look through the list of French words below to 
see if you already know any of the words. Strike out those 
you know and enough others to leave only ten words. 
If none are familiar strike out the last five words. Then 
learn the English equivalents of these ten. Record the 
exact time in minutes and seconds required for the learn- 
ing. Consider them learned as soon as you are able to 
give the English equivalents upon seeing the French words. 
Have a piece of paper at hand to cover the English words 
to find out whether you are able to do this. 



chainage 

eveque 

verbeux 

rivage 

delit 

appui 

semelle 

voiture 

mordre 

boutis 

gacher 

galbe 

reveur 

trochet 

ressui 



survey 

bishop 

verbose 

shore 

offence 

support 

foot 

vehicle 

bite 

rooting 

temper 

outline 

dreamer 

cluster 

lair 



c. Memorize the following stanza of poetry. Record 
the exact time required. Consider it memorized as soon 
as you are able to repeat it without consulting the text. 



74 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

From rocky cleft the torrent dashes; 

Down, down he comes with thunder-shock; 
The sturdy oak beneath him crashes, 

And after rolls the loosened rock. 
Amazed, o'erjoyed, with awe and wonder 

The traveller stops and gazes round; 
He hears the all-pervading thunder, 
But cannot tell from whence the sound. 
c. Memorize the ten syllables below so that you are 
able to repeat them from memory in the correct order. 
Record the time. 

dut 
nof 
tep 
min 
rus 
nir 
len 
zat 
sim 
pez 
The training series consists of 180 Italian words and 
their English equivalents. They are divided into six 
groups of thirty words each. You are to learn the English 
equivalents in the same manner as the French vocabulary. 
Memorize one group a day. Record the time. Do the 
learning as nearly as possible at the same time of the 
day on six successive days. After the completion of this 
practice, repeat the tests performed before the training, 
using, however, the new material provided on later pages. 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 



75 



acca 

cuoio 

accio 

costa 

acqua 

destro 

alia 

ne 

ballo 

ermo 

bere 

fetta 

caffo 

tuffo 

gabbo 

carda 

quatto 

cambo 

acre 

raja 

rilevo 

una 

ritrorso 

everse 

falda 

elmo 

dolo 

fin 

disfetto 

citta 



zero 

leather 

that 

rib 

with 

skilful 

market 

thence 

dance 

desert 

drink 

bit 

add 

ruin 

jeer 

town 

still 

truck 

sour 

turnip 

crumbs 

omen 

stubborn 

ruined 

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helm 

fraud 

until 

affronts 

town 



7 6 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



II 



affare 

battello 

agio 

lana 

ala 

legnoso 

balia 

majo 

beffa 

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botte 

talpa 

calco 

otta 

prezzo 

conto 

raggio 

cardo 

elce 

scuro 

tale 

ritto 

scalzo 

mezzo 

monco 

lucco 

lira 

omo 

libbra 

conti 



business 
vessel 
comfort 
wool 
wing 
woody- 
judge 
tree 
joke 
spade 
tub 
mole 
drawing 
hour 
prize 
prudent 
ray- 
thistle 
oak 
dark 
like 

upright 
naked 
half 

maimed 
gown 
harp 
man 
pound 
accounts 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 



77 



III 



fieno 

mazzo 

bagno 

fitto 

pesca 

mena 

berza 

miglio 

flato 

bianco 

miro 

fondo 

blando 

frego 

gaffo 

brama 

frutta 

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nano 

fuoco 

gamba 

nece 

caccia 

gatta 

netto 

caldo 

guida 

ogni 

nuto 



hay- 
bunch 
bath 
thick 
sport 
plot 
skin 
mile 
gust 
white 
strange 
land 
soft 
dash 
stupid 
wish 
dessert 
fly 

crowd 
dwarf 
fire 
leg 
death 
hunt 
cat 
clean 
hot 
leader 
every 
sign 



78 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



IV 



nord 

prode 

zana 

lasso 

dazio 

prova 

degno 

rame 

burla 

desto 

refe 

lena 

dicace 

legna 

remo 

dolce 

letto 

saldo 

doge 

scolio 

arbusto 

lino 

scorso 

dorato 

lode 

seno 

dosso 

lucro 

torvo 

stufa 



north ' 

bold 

basket 

error 

tax 

trial 

worthy 

copper 

joke 

brisk 

thread 

breath 

glib 

fuel 

oar 

sweet 

bed 

firm 

captain 

note 

shrub 

flax 

error 

golden 

praise 

breast 

back 

gain 

grim 

stove 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 



79 



fune 

imo 

calze 

orzo 

incauto 

uscio 

carta 

intacto 

caso 

carne 

abbisso 

pigro 

pegno 

manto 

mastice 

vinto 

barba 

foggia 

gita 

inno 

canotto 

zolla 

corsa 

lento 

guerra 

storta 

nodo 

sponda 

bardo 

sabbia 



rope 
deep 

stockings 
barley- 
careless 
door 
paper 
complete 
accident 
meat 
gulf 
idle 
pledge 
much 
glue 

vanquished 
uncle 
fashion 
journey 
hymn 
ship 
clod 
run 
slow 
war 
retort 
knot 
brink 
poet 
sand 



8o 



EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



VI 



estro 

lume 

esile 

tutto 

lutto 

vallo 

mosca 

gambo 

ferita 

eburnio 

smalto 

vispo 

zuffa 

manso 

mastio 

torto 

bacio 

finche 

giorno 

lordo 

latte 

vezzi 

sugo 

gioco 

grido 

stima 

neve 

sommo 

gia 

rotto 



genius 
light 
thin 
all 
grief 
fence 
fly 

stock 
cut 
ivory 
enamel 
quick 
fight 
tame 
hinge 
wrong 
kiss 
until 
day- 
awkward 
milk 
charms 
sap 
trick 
cry 

esteem 
snow 
top 
once 
broken 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 8l 

Repeat the end tests using the following material: 

a. Immediate auditory memory. 

1 k b h 

g 1 d s p 

f b w k n t 

y ncrdh j 

zqtndrkv 

hjnxqdfmb 

cmstvrbhpq 

b. French vocabulary. Again cross out all the words 
you know and enough others to leave only ten words. 



? 



tuyau 

pourchas 

liste 

paquis 

colon 

sparte 

ecueil 

houle 

moellon 

tamis 

roupille 

autan 

calcet 

curet 

filon 



tube 

pursuit 

band 

pasture 

farmer 

broom 

rock 

surge 

sandstone 

sieve 

jacket 

wind 

mast-head 

skin 

thief 



82 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

c. Stanza of poetry. 

And, as the boy, with hopeless longing — 

When stolen freedom yields no rest, 
But home-thoughts to his heart keep thronging- 

Flies to his injured mother's breast; 
So Music has the power to charm us, 

When turned from Nature's simple truth; 
From cold and foreign ways to warn us 

With the old feelings of our youth. 



d. Syllables. 



nop 

tud 

dal 

ros 

mac 

biz 

jip 
lor 
fip 
ruv 



Results. Construct a table similar to Table IV, show- 
ing the learning times of the different groups of the train- 
ing series, and of the different test series. Calculate the 
percentage of improvement in the training series by com- 
paring the last day's record with the first day's record. 
Similarly, calculate the percentage of difference between 
the tests after the training and before the training. 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 83 

TABLE IV 

RECORD OF ONE INDIVIDUAL 

End Tests Training Series End Tests Percentage 
Time Time for Each Time Gain or 

Before Group After Loss 

French 4 min. 1 20 min. 2% min. +31 

Poetry 7 min. 2 20 min. 5 min. + 29 

Syllables 5 min. 3 16 min. 2^ min. +50 

Memory Span 6 letters 415 min. 6 letters o 

5 12 min. 

6 12 min. 

The improvement in the second end tests is not entirely 
due to transference from the training series, but is due 
in a small measure to the benefit derived from the first 
end tests. This is shown by performing the end tests 
on a group of individuals with an interval of one week 
oetween the two tests and without taking the training 
tests. A test performed in this manner with eleven 
individuals showed an average improvement of 5 per cent, 
in learning French vocabulary and of 10 per cent, in 
learning poetry, and with twenty-eight subjects the im- 
provement in learning syllables was 2 per cent. These 
percentages must be subtracted from the improvement 
in the regular experiment in order to obtain the amount 
of improvement due to transference. 

Turn to the experiment in Chapter VII and compute 
the percentage of improvement in the end tests, namely 
in the substitution of symbols for numbers. Find also 
the percentage of improvement in the training series itself 
and compare it with the improvement in the end tests. 
Twenty-nine persons doing the end tests without the train- 
ing series showed a gain of 4 per cent., which must be 



84 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

deducted from the percentage of improvement shown by 
the subjects who took the training series. 

Turn to Chapter VI and calculate the percentage of 
gain in time and errors in the two tracings made with 
the left hand. Compare this with the improvement in the 
practice of the right hand. 1 The records of twelve sub- 
jects showed that the left hand made 90 per cent, as much 
improvement as the right hand. 2 

Questions : 

1. Which experiments in the end tests are most like 
and which least like the training series? Which show the 
largest amount of improvement? What general principle 
would you formulate? 

2. In general how much improvement is transferred? 

3. In the light of your results discuss this statement: 
" A change in one function alters any other only in so far 
as the two functions have as factors identical elements.' ' 
(Thorndike, Educational Psychology, First Edition, p. 80.) 

4. What bearing have these experimental results upon 
the question of mental discipline of school studies? Would 
training derived from one study help in the pursuit of 
others? If so, to what extent? 

For further practical exercises see Thorndike, Prin- 
ciples of Teaching, 249-256; O'Shea, Education as Ad- 
justment, Chapters 13 and 14. 

1 This type of transference of practice of one organ of the body- 
to its bilaterally symmetrical organ is called cross-education. Its 
bearing upon the whole problem of transference among mental 
functions is only indirect. 

» Starch, Psych. Bulletin, 7, 1910, 20-23. 



THE TRANSFERENCE OF TRAINING 85 



TABLE V 

PERCENTAGE OF GAIN IN END TESTS (30 OBSERVERS). TRAINING 
SERIES CONTINUED ONE WEEK 

French Poetry Syllables Memory Span 

1 31 29 50 O 

2 20 17 53 O 

3 18 9 50 

4 • . 12 25 O 

5 7 17 70 

6 50 14 62 14 

7 11 •• 44 o 

8 10 29 75 -12 

9 -22 38 

10 32 69 48 

11 45 50 48 o 

12 20 28 18 o 

13 35 40 20 o 

14 9 20 15 o 

15 6 12 14 o 

16 17 5 20 o 

17 14 21 7 o 

18 8 4 -3 o 

19 3 3 5 o 

20 -26 25 20 o 

21 26 21 25 -14 

22 21 -7 39 17 

23 23 4 16 o 

24 -25 16 13 o 

25 - 4 20 10 o 

26 30 23 - 4 o 

27 -11 - 7 25 o 

28 27 3 16 

29 33 18 27 o 

30 -24 8 55 17 

Average .... 13 17 29 1 



CHAPTER IX 
ASSOCIATION 

i. The General Law of Association 

The law of association simply stated is this, Things 1 
experienced together tend to recur together. The appli- 
cations of this law to teaching are very obvious and very 
wide. They may be summed up under two principles, ' ' Put 
together what you wish to have go together," and " Re- 
ward good impulses." 2 

The force of the law of association may be demonstrated 
very simply in this manner: Find the number of seconds 
required to repeat the alphabet as quickly as possible. 
Next find the time required to repeat the alphabet back- 
wards. Explain the difference. 

In the next experiment commit to memory the seven 
Spanish words printed below in Group I. While doing 
this keep the English equivalents covered with a piece of 
paper. Always repeat the words in order from the top 
of the column. Then cover the Spanish list and memorize 
the English words in their order. After you have learned 
both lists lay the book aside and find the time it will 

1 That is, ideas, mental states or processes. 

2 Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, p. no. 

86 



ASSOCIATION 



87 



take you to recall from memory the Spanish words in 
their order and the correct English equivalent of each. 
While you are learning do not compare the two lists. 

Memorize the words in the second group, but in this 
case read the Spanish word and the English equivalent 
together. As soon as you know them, lay the book aside 
and find the time required to recall the foreign words and 
their meanings. Explain the difference in time between 
the recalling of the two groups. 





GROUP I 




lutea 




oriole 


molleta 




biscuit 


poder 




power 


despensa 




pantry 


elenco 




catalogue 


conata 




effort 


obra 


GROUP II 


work 


tenue 




thin 


vera 




edge 


hondon 




bottom 


redro 




behind 


desvan 




garret 


dedo 




finger 


lecho 




couch 



88 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 
TABLE VI 

TABLE OF NINETEEN PERSONS, SHOWING THE TIME IN SECONDS OF 
RECALLING THE TWO GROUPS 

Group I Group II 

2 

3 

4- • ••• 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 •••• 

io 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 • 

Average 355" 13" 

2. Specific Laws of Association 

Problem. The object is to demonstrate the laws accord- 
ing to which ideas or mental states are associated. Why- 
does a given idea bring to mind a certain idea rather than 
some other? For example, why does " December 25th " 
bring to mind " Christmas " rather than " President 
Johnson's proclamation of pardon "? What determines 
which one of a score of possible connections shall be made? 



25" 


10" 


17" 


5" 


16" 


9" 


50" 


10" 


56" 


6" 


30" 


10" 


35" 


10" 


25" 


15" 


40" 


9" 


20" 


6" 


50^' 


5" 


22" 


12" 


45" 


35" 


53" 


18" 


45" 


18" 


40" 


20" 


30" 


8" 


55" 


30" 


20" 


6" 



ASSOCIATION 89 

The Material is supplied on the following ten pages. 
It is imperative that you should not examine it except 
under strict experimental conditions. Therefore, do not 
turn to it until you are ready to do the experiment. The 
material is composed of syllables and numbers. Each 
series is composed of ten pairs of syllables and numbers 
printed side by side. Take a sheet of paper, at least 
twelve centimetres square, and cut crosswise in the centre 
of it a rectangular aperture, 5 mm. by 4 cm. This will 
serve as a simple means of exposing the pairs of syllables 
and numbers for uniform intervals of time. 

Procedure. Turn to Series I and immediately lay the 
sheet of paper over the page so that the aperture exposes 
nothing but the words " Series I." Each pair in the series 
is to be exposed for three seconds. The time is indicated 
by your partner, who taps on the table every three sec- 
onds. Take hold of the sheet of paper with the right hand 
and at the first tap slide it down to expose the first pair, 
at the next tap slide it down to expose the second pair, 
and so on through the entire series. Give your entire 
attention to the particular pair exposed. Pronounce to 
yourself both the syllable and the number. As soon as 
you have finished, slide the sheet of paper down and 
expose the set of syllables (test series) on the lower 
half of the page. Be sure, however, not to uncover any 
part of the upper series (stimulus series). These syllables 
are the same ones used in the stimulus series, but they 
are arranged in different order. Your partner again taps 
at intervals of three seconds. Begin at the top and write 



9© EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

opposite each syllable the number that comes to your 
mind as the one seen with it in the stimulus series. Pass 
to the next syllable at the next tap, and so on. If no 
number is recalled leave the space blank. Work through 
the other nine series in exactly the same manner. Allow 
an interval of at least two minutes between the successive 
series. Before working out the results your partner 
should go through the experiment also. 



92 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 





SERIES I 




var 




37 


mup 




95 


tib 




3i 


sov 




57 


raz 




89 


mup 




95 


vej 




63 


zik 




17 


tev 




40 


kes 


vej 

sov 

mup 

var 

tib 

raz 

tev 

zik 

kes 


>2 



94 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SERIES II 




rad 




43 


guf 




21 


dut 




25 


nib 




27 


WAP 




53 


cag 




86 


taz 




97 


ber 




34 


fon 




69 


tim 


taz 

fon 

tim 

cag 

wap 

dut 

rad 

ber 

nib 

guf 


24 



96 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SERIES III 


[ 


rol 




58 


kuf 




73 


jer 




46 


kus 




65 


pif 




39 


geb 




64 


mez 




IS 


fex 




35 


jer 




46 


fil 


kuf 

pif 

fex 

jer 

fil 

rol 

kus 

geb 

mez 


79 



98 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SERIES IV 


ren 




67 


sur 




49 


kep 




85 


luf 




26 


dar 




92 


kam 




33 


tuc 




28 


sor 




Si 


LOD 




68 


zan 


ren 

kep 

tuc 

sur 

zan 

lod 

luf 

kam 

sor 

dar 


32 



IOO EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 





SERIES V 




bal 




98 


hon 




76 


ker 




23 


liu 




68 


rad 




55 


hus 




19 


pex 




83 


liu 




68 


nil 




47 


fos 


hon 

rad 

ker 

fos 

bal 

nil 

liu 

pex 

hus 


94 



102 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SI 


5RIES 


VI 


mep 




36 


vib 




78 


lat 




90 


vul 




18 


zed 




29 


kas 




54 


REN 




72 


dov 




88 


cer 




93 


tis 


cer 

ren 

zed 

lat 

mep 

tis 

dov 

kas 

vul 

vib 


60 



104 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SERIES VII 


mol 




9i 


gir 




20 


lez 




66 


pof 




38 


reb 




16 


lem 




99 


zat 




48 


neb 




50 


pof 




38 


tid 


mol 

lez 

reb 

zat 

pof 

tid 

neb 

lem 

gir 


25 



I06 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SERIES VIII 


cak 


81 


mun 


56 


KEX 


13 


gam 


96 


jik 


30 


hun 


59 


dut 


74 


seb 


33 


bic 


42 


rel 


11 


jik 




kex 




cak 




hun 




seb 




rel 




mun 




gam 




dut 




bic 





Io8 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



( 


SERIES IX 


dak 




14 


vof 




70 


zib 




82 


lis 




44 


med 




71 


mib 




62 


vof 




70 


sim 




56 


len 




34 


ner 


mib 

dak 

ner 

sim 

vof 

med 

lis 

zib 

len 


27 



HO EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



SERIES X 




nof 


45 


rus 


80 


cem 


64 


fop 


37 


mig 


29 


Ian 


87 


LOR 


53 


tal 


16 


bax 


42 


ges 


61 


nof 




cem 




mig 




lor 




bax 




ges 




tal 




Ian 




fop 




rus 





112 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Results. The purpose of the experiment is to demon- 
strate the four laws of association. 

a. Primacy. Other things being equal, the first asso- 
ciation is most apt to be recalled. 

b. Frequency. Other things being equal, the most fre- 
quent association is most apt to be recalled. This is 
illustrated in series i, 3, 5, 7, 9, in which one syllable 
occurs twice with the same number. 

c. Intensity. Other things being equal, the most in- 
tense or most vivid association is most apt to be recalled. 
This is illustrated in series 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, in which one 
pair is printed in much larger type. 

d. Recency. Other things being equal, the most recent 
association is most apt to be recalled. Primacy and recency 
are illustrated in each series by the first and last pairs. 

Construct a table to show the number and percentage 
of correct associations. Follow Table VII as model. 
The results of Series I or any other series should not be 
counted if they were vitiated by incorrect performance 

of the experiment. 

TABLE VII 

In series I, correct associations 3 

by primacy 1 

by recency 1 

miscellaneous 1 

In series II, correct associations 2 

by recency 1 

by intensity 1 , etc. 

Total possible associations by primacy 10 

11 frequency 5 

" " " " intensity 5 

" " " " recency 10 



u 



miscellaneous 65 



ASSOCIATION 113 

Percentage of correct associations made in each case: 

by primacy, 5 out of 10 possible ones 50% 

by frequency, 3 out of 5 possible ones 60% 

by intensity, 4 out of 5 possible ones 80% 

by recency, 4 out of 10 possible ones 40% 

miscellaneous, 14 out of 65 possible ones 21% 



1 
2 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8. 

9 

10. 
11 
12 

13 
14. 

15 
16. 

17 

18. 

19 
20. 
21 . 
22. 

23- 
24. 

25- 

26. 

27- 

28. 



Average , 





TABLE VIII 






ILE OF 


RESULTS OF 


TWENTY-EIGHT PERSONS 




Primacy 


Frequency 


Intensity 


Recency Mil 


scellanec 


5 


2 


I 


7 


12 


6 


3 


I 


4 


22 


10 


1 


O 


4 


21 





1 


2 


3 


13 


8 


3 


2 


6 


9 


6 





2 


2 


6 


8 


1 


4 


5 


18 


2 





1 


6 


1 


4 


1 


1 


8 


14 


5 


1 


2 


4 


7 


4 








1 


27 


5 


1 


1 


3 


9 


6 


4 


3 


5 


23 


3 


2 


1 


6 


4 


3 


1 


2 


3 


17 


2 


3 


1 


3 


22 


6 


2 


3 


3 


15 


7 





5 


6 





6 


1 


3 





16 


4 


3 


1 


2 


23 


6 


3 





4 


28 


4 


1 


5 


6 


14 


3 


1 


3 


5 


12 


2 


1 





2 


15 


7 


3 


3 


6 


29 


4 





1 


5 


14 


8 


1 


1 


3 


27 


9 


2 








11 


5 1 


1-5 


1-75 


4.0 


15-3 


5i% 


30% 


35% 


40% 


24% 



114 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Questions : 

i. Give several illustrations from your own experience 
in school in which the laws of association were applied 
correctly. Several in which they were applied incorrectly. 

2. How would the laws of association apply to the 
learning of correct grammatical forms? Spelling? Para- 
digms? Dates of history? 

For a very excellent list of questions and specific exer- 
cises, see Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, pp. 1 12-123. 



CHAPTER X 

APPERCEPTION 

Apperception is the " manner in which we receive a 
thing into our minds " (James). It includes all the pro- 
cesses by which we read meaning into sense impressions. 
One person calls an object a useless stone; another calls 
it a fossil of the carboniferous age. The two persons re- 
ceive the object differently, they give different meanings 
to the same sense impressions. Each gives that particular 
interpretation which is most in accord with his particular 
mental make-up. 

The General Problem of the experiments in this chapter 
is to illustrate the facts of apperception, that the mind 
always endeavors to give some meaning to every incoming 
impression, whether new or old, and to find some factors 
which determine what meaning shall be given to a par- 
ticular impression. 

i. To demonstrate the meaning tendency of the mind. 

a. Turn to the ten ink blots and write into your note- 
book the first thing that each one suggests or represents 
to you, that is, the first meaning which naturally comes 
to you as you see each one. Do not study them or try 
to force a meaning into them. 

"5 



Il6 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 





2 




Figs. 9, 10, n. 



APPERCEPTION 



117 







6 




6 

Figs. 12, 13, 14. 



Il8 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 





8 



&£■* 







10 

Figs. 15, 16, 17, 18. 



APPERCEPTION II9 

The experiment clearly demonstrates that the mind 
normally attempts to interpret every sensation. It tries 
to give meaning even to those impressions which are 
entirely without meaning and unlike anything previously 
experienced. The ink blots are in themselves without 
significance, and were not made with the intention of 
representing anything. The meaning you give to each is 
entirely imposed upon it. The mind is persistent in giving 
meaning to its sensations because meaningless things have 
no value or significance. The mental development of a 
child is largely a development of apperception. 

b. Turn to the ten syllables given below. Write in 
your note-book what each one reminds you of or suggests 
to you. 

nof 

cem 

mig 

lor 

bax 

ges 

tal 

Ian 

fi P 

rus 
Here again the same fact is illustrated. The mind 
gives meaning even to the meaningless. These three- 
letter syllables do not constitute words or symbols, yet 
each one almost without exception stirs up some associa- 
tion or other and forthwith it has meaning. 



120 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

c. As soon as a meaning has been given to impressions 
they at once become definite according to the particular 
meaning imposed. Find the frogs in Fig. 19, and notice 




By permission of Century Company. 

Fig. 19. 

that as soon as you have found them the blur springs into 
definite outline. The external stimulus is moulded accord- 
ing to the meaning given. 

d. In the developed adult mind the interpretative ten- 
dency is so dominant that the attention is primarily upon 
the meaning aspect, to the neglect of the actual sense 
stimuli upon which the meaning is based. Only the slight- 
est hint needs to be given to make the mind see this or 
that particular object. The mind, as it were, supplies 
the necessary material to fill out the picture. To demon- 
strate this point, ask an assistant to set the book at a 
distance of twenty or twenty-five feet from you to show 
Fig. 21, on page 130. 1 Do not look it up yourself, as it is 

^he experiment can best be performed by the entire class 
simultaneously, in which case the instructor in charge should place 



APPERCEPTION 121 

important that you should not see the figure at close range 
until after the experiment. Make a duplicate freehand 
drawing of the figure thus shown. Put in all the lines and 
details that you see. 

Compare your drawing with the figure in the book. 
Explain the difference. The mind reads meaning into 
sense impressions, supplies details and makes the external 
stimulus conform to the apperceived meaning. Fig. 26, 
on page 183, is a typical sketch drawn under experimental 
conditions. 

■ 2. The particular meaning given to a group of sensa- 
tions is determined by the previous experiences of the 
individual. 

a. Compare your record of the ink-blot test with that of 
one other person. For this purpose make a table num- 
bering in the first column from 1 to 10, in the second col- 
umn place opposite each number the meaning you gave 
to each blot, and in the third the meanings given by the 
other person. 

b. Construct a similar table for the syllable test. In 
addition, state so far as you can why each syllable re- 
minds you of this or that word or object. Obtain similar 
statements from the person whose record you have. 
These introspective statements show, however super- 
ficially, that the same impressions are apperceived differ- 
ently by different persons because of different past 
experiences. 

the book at the required distance. No one in the class should be 
nearer than twenty feet. 



122 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

c. The richness of the meaning or completeness of the 
meaning which we give to a sense impression depends 
upon the number and richness of the associations con- 
nected with that sense impression. After each one of the 
following words write the names, or simply a check mark, 
of as many different actual situations or particular ex- 
periences as you can recall, in which each was involved: 
i. Midas; 2. Flatiron Building; 3. Railroad; 4. Tobog- 
gan; 5. Poetry; 6. Psychic Medium; 7. Skeeing; 8. Tel- 
escope; 9. The "L"; 10. Grain Binder. 1 See for 
illustration Table IX. If any word calls up many asso- 
ciations, stop with ten. 

TABLE IX 

1. Midas 

2. Flatiron Building . fij 

3. Railroad 

4. Toboggan 

5. Poetry 

6. Psychic Medium .... 

7. Skeeing 

8. Telescope 

9. The "L" 

10. Grain Binder 

Represent your results in a carve. Put on the hori- 
zontal line the numbers of the words and on the vertical 
lines the numbers of associations. See Fig. 20. 

d. The nature of our past experiences and associations, 
then, determines how we shall interpret and react to 

1 Of course very familiar concepts are bound up with such a 
wealth of associations that many are beyond recall and yet con- 
tribute to the significance of the concept. The words chosen for the 
text include some very familiar concepts and some very unfamiliar. 



APPERCEPTION 1 23 

present stimuli. This entire system or range of acquired 
experiences is in general equivalent to the range of in- 
formation which a given individual possesses. The total 
bulk of one's information or experience is sometimes called 
the " apperceptive mass." The Australian bushmen call 
a book " mussel " because it opens and shuts like a shell- 
fish. Their range of information did not include expe- 
riences with books. 




The following is designed as an information test. 1 

" Below are 100 words, phrases, or abbreviations, 
largely technical, which are designed to test the range of 
your information. Consider each one carefully, and place 
after it one of these four marks: 

" (1) the mark D if you could define it as exactly as 
words are ordinarily defined in the dictionary. 

" (2) the mark E if you could explain it well enough to 
give some idea of its meaning to one who is not familiar 
with it, though you could not give an exact definition 
that would satisfy an expert. 

1 From Whipple, Psych. Rev. 16, 1900, 347-351. 



124 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

" (3) the mark F if the word is merely roughly familiar, 
so that you have only an indefinite idea of its meaning 
and could not use it intelligently. 

" (4) the mark N if the word is entirely new and 
unknown to you. 



ageratum 


cleistogamous 


infusoria 


puer 


amphioxus 


cosmogony 


intaglio 


pyramidal tract 


amphora 


cotangent 


Kepler's law 


quadratics 


annealed 


dibble 


kilogram 


rococo 


Anthony Wayne dietetics 


kinesthetic 


R. S. V. P. 


apocalypse 


dryad 


kinetic 


scherzo 


architrave 


electrolysis 


Les Mis^rables 


semaphore 


aujourdhui 


Elohim 


linotype 


simony 


Babcock test 


entree 


logos 


spoils system 


base-hit 


Eocene 


luff 


Stoicism 


Bernard Shaw 


Euclid 


Malthus' law 


synecdoche 


Bokhara 


f-64 


metacarpal 


testudo 


Braille 


f . 0. b. 


midiron 


tort 


call-loan 


gambit 


Millet 


trephine 


calorie 


gasket 


mitosis 


triangulation 


cantilever 


glycogen 


morgen 


trilobite 


Caedmon 


gneiss 


nada 


triple-expansion 


catalepsy 


golden section 


natural selection undistributed 


cephalic index 


guimpe 


noi 


Utopia [middle 


ceramics 


hedonism 


ohm 


vantage-in 


chamfer 


hemiptera 


parallax 


way-bill 


Chartism 


homiletics 


peneplain 


Weismannism 


chlorine 


hydraulic press 


Pestalozzi 


wigwag 


chromosome 


impetigo 


Polonius 


X-Ray 


clearing-house 


impressionism 


pomology 


Zionism 



Results, a. Count the number of each class. 

b. State the meaning briefly of all the words you 
marked F which are also marked F by one other person 
in the class. Make a comparative table. 



\ 



APPERCEPTION 1 25 

3. The particular meaning given to a group of sensa- 
tions is determined not only by the general mass of 
previous experiences but also by the particular system 
of past associations dominant in the mind at the time, 
that is, the meaning is determined by the present setting 
of the mind. 

a. Turn to the following ten lists of skeleton words. 
Fill in the missing letters to make words. The number 
and the position of the letters to be supplied are indicated 
by the dashes. Take the groups in the order in which they 
are numbered. Work as rapidly as possible, and record 
the time required for each group. If a skeleton does not 
suggest the missing letters within a reasonably short time, 
say twenty to thirty seconds, leave it blank. 



I II 

The following are miscel- The following are names 



aneous nouns. 


of articles of dress, 


1. P--er 


1. 


Gl-v- 


2. N-m- 


2. 


-at 


3. H-b-t 


3- 


T-e 


4. S-C--1 


4. 


P-n 


5- V-l-e 


5- 


C--t 


6. P-n 


6. 


-o-l-r 


7. B--k 


7- 


B- - t-n 


8. St-e-t 


8. 


-e-ch — f 


9. -o-se 


9- 


Sh-e 


10. Gl-s- 


10. 


C--f 



126 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



III 



IV 



The following are names of 


The following are names 


household furnishings. 


familiar fruits. 


i. C-a-r 


1. A--le 


2. L-m- 


2. C-e — y 


3- B-d 


3. O-a-g- 


4 . R- -k-r 


4. P1-- 


5- T-b-- 


5. L n 


6. C--t-in 


6. B — a-a 


7. D — ss-r 


7. -pr — ot 


8. P-ct-re 


8. P-a-h 


9. D- -k 


9. Gr-p- 


10. St-v- 


10. P--r 



The following are names of 

well-known American 

authors. 

1. E — rs-n 

2. L-we — 

3. H--m-s 

4. R-l-y 

5. B- -a-t 

6. W-i- -i-r 

7. C--p-r 

8. P-- 

9. I-v-n- 
10. V- -D-k- 



VI 

The following are miscel- 
laneous nouns. 

1. Fl-o- 

2. T-e- 

3. W-te- 

4. P-n--l 

5. N-m--r 

6. K- -f- 

7. R-v-r 

8. W-g- - 

9. Sq- -r- 
10. -n-m-1 



APPERCEPTION 



127 



VII 

The following are names of 

pieces of American 

money. 

1. P-nn- 

2. N-c- -1 
3- C- -t 

4. Q-a-t-r 

5. B--1 

6. D-m- 

7. -o-l-r 

8. S-lv-r 

9. C--p-r 
10. G-ld 



VIII 

The following are names of 

familiar domestic 

animals. 

1. -o-se 

2. d-g 

3. C-w 

4. C- -f 
5- S- -ep 

6. -at 

7. H-g 

8. Chic 

9. D- -k 
10. T--k-y 



IX 

The following are names of 
university studies. 

1. F-e-c- 

2. L n 

3. H-s-or- 

4. -th-cs 

5. B-t-n- 

6. G-rm-- 

7. E-g- -s- 

8. -rf-t-my 

9. P — s-cs 
10. Ge-l-g- 



X 

The following are names of 
American cities. 

1. B--t-n 

2. N-w — r- 

3. Se--tl- 

4. Chic 

5. St -o — s 

6. D-n--r 

7. O- -h- 

8. P-rt--nd 

9. B--f--o 
10. -lb-n- 



128 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Find the average time required to do Groups I and VI 
and the average time for the other eight groups. How do 
they compare? Explain the difference. 

In each group, except I and VI, a specific system of 
associations is made prominent at the outset; that is, 
the mind is " set " in a specific way, with the result that 
(a) the meanings of the skeletons arise much more rapidly 
and (b) they are in accord with the particular set of 
associations present. This point is demonstrated by the 
fact that twenty-two skeletons are alike. Yet in each 
group a different meaning arises according to the set of 
the mind. If you noticed during the experiment that 
any skeleton was like one you had in a preceding group, 
indicate which ones. 

The ones alike are I 6 and II 4 

I 9 and VIII 1 

II 2 and VIII 6 
II 5 and VII 3 
II 6 and VII 7 
II 7 and IX 1 

II 10 and VIII 4 

III 9 and VIII 9 

IV 5 and IX 2 

V 7 and VII 9 
VIII 8 and X 4. 



APPERCEPTION 1 29 

TABLE X 

RECORDS FROM TWENTY-EIGHT PERSONS 

Av. of Groups Av. of the 
I and VI other groups 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

n 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 • 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

Average i' 15" 36" 

b. Look for just an instant, not more than a second, at 
Fig. 22. Record what it represents. Then look at it for 



*' 55" 


23" 


35" 


22" 


55" 


24" 


28" 


24" 


30" 


8" 


2' 35" 


1' 18" 


i' 10" 


42" 


2' 30" 


51" 


46" 


3o" 


52" 


28" 


2' 30" 


1' 1" 


43" 


3o" 


i' 45" 


I' 20" 


I' 22" 


44" 


32" 


24" 


37" 


25" 


2' 45" 


i' 8" 


32" 


28" 


1' 10" 


40" 


55" 


25" 


1' 52" 


1' 15" 


2' 30" 


40" 


40" 


20" 


I' 25" 


36" 


I' 15" 


16" 


27" 


14" 


55" 


32" 


55" 


26" 



130 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

several seconds and again record what you observe. 
Explain the results. 

c. What is the " meaning " or suggestion of the follow- 



L-n. 

n 



L 

9 

i 



I 

L 



C2 




ing phrases? It may be necessary to read each one 
several times. 



APPERCEPTION 131 

(1) Pas de lieu Rhone que nous. 

(2) Von der Vottei mit is. 

(3) Gui n'a beau dit, qui sabot dit, nid a beau dit elle. 

(4) Mein die Uhr onbiss Nuss\ 

Both of these experiments demonstrate in different 
fields the fact that the meaning read into sensations 
depends upon the set of the mind. In case of Fig. 22 the 




C uridine! von R. Cudden 
in Frankfurt i M. 

FlG. 22. 

meaning suggested is " brain," and the outlines and con- 
volutions are seen in accordance with it. In case of the 
foreign phrases the set of the mind is either " French " 
or " German," and you endeavor to give them meaning 
accordingly. The dominant set of associations makes it 
difficult to see or rather to hear the meaning of these 
" English " sounds. 1 

1 If you have failed to discover the meanings you will now notice 
that the sounds are identical, or nearly so with 

1. Paddle your own canoe. 

2. Wonder what time it is. 

3. Gin a body kiss a body need a body tell. 

4. Mind your own business. 



I3 2 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

The principles of apperception have a very important 
application to teaching. First, link new information to 
the information, experiences, and associations which the 
learner already possesses. Second, prepare the proper 
apperceptive basis in the pupil for the reception of new 
material. 

For practical exercises and applications to specific 
problems, see Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, pp. 
44-50; O'Shea, Education as Adjustment, Chapter 12. 



CHAPTER XI 

ATTENTION 

Two of the main problems of attention with which the 
teacher is constantly concerned are: How to secure the 
attention of pupils to the work in hand, and how to hold 
the attention after it has been secured. What are the 
laws of attracting attention, and what are the laws of 
sustaining attention? 

i. Laws of Attracting Attention. These will be stated 
after the experiments have been performed. Proceed 
therefore at once to make the following tests. 

The Material to be used consists of groups of words. 
Each group is to be seen for only five seconds. To insure 
this condition, the material for each experiment is printed 
on a separate leaf, so that only one group can be seen at 
a time. The interval of five seconds is to be indicated by 
your partner, who will tap on the table at the beginning 
and at the end of the interval. Have the book before you 
and be ready to turn the leaf at the first tap. Look at 
the words until your partner taps again. Then turn the 
book over and write into your note-book all the words 
that you remember having noticed. Designate them as 

133 






134 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

Group I. Do not attempt to memorize any of the words, 
but rather look passively at the whole group. 

In this manner continue the experiment with the re- 
maining eight groups. Have an intermission of at least 
one minute between the successive groups. 



ATTENTION 135 



GROUP I 

term cast hang look WAIT 

down keep CARE draw vein 

sort grow bind THAN face 

cold PLAN come view mark 

suit call WORK poor evil 



ATTENTION 137 



GROUP II 

bite STAY give rise have 

stop take jerk PICK snap 

play wake TRIM this from 

COAT pull pain bold push 

pour hill busy BLOW leaf 



ATTENTION 139 



GROUP III 

blue pray beat here want 

that pick rude time your 

zeal damp turn just with 

tilt fall iron once yard 

more step thou lead find 



ATTENTION 141 



GROUP IV 

heir clad make live fold 

tell rear reef firm wing 

fire hand rock will yarn 

form mind walk gold fear 

part like pass moat room 



ATTENTION 143 







GROUP V 




ayatv 


irjfiL 


avtv 


send 


VLKY] 


O/ACOS 


pure 


KVOiV 


£(ov?7 


aAAa 


Sopv 


\v7rrj 


lark 


Kayuy 


X ct P 


mule 


aTra£ 


cutis 


fiovs 


yvvrj 


V7T£p 


)(LO)V 


e7T7]V 


milk 


a XP L 



ATTENTION 



H5 





GROUP VI 




cirra 


wall 


<j>r]iXL 


ewpa 


Slktj 


aVTL 


vS(op 


rrjKO) 


«ro)s 


mode 


irA.ea> 


CL(TTV 


lark 


A.eyo> 


ap/xo 


07TCUS 


yevu) 


/8io? 


moon 


fiev<a 


afxfa 


land 


CT(OOS 


avrjp 


(TTraw 



ATTENTION 147 



GROUP VII 
fare good hard gray home 



ATTENTION 149 



GROUP VIII 

what hate shot gone roll 
seem hope gate mean hair 



ATTENTION 151 



GROUP IX 

head wood hear each lime 

gush when calf some chin 

horn comb song free less 

boat hole long knot cure 

slow coal sick lend crow 



ATTENTION 1 53 

Results. The four laws demonstrated above are: 

a. The law of intensity. Other things being equal, the 
amount and degree of attention depends upon the inten- 
sity of the stimulus. Groups I and II contain each 
twenty-five words, of which five are printed in large 
capitals. These will arouse more intense sensations and 
consequently are more apt to be noticed. 

b. The law of contrast. Other things being equal, the 
amount and degree, of attention depends upon the con- 
trast of the stimulus with other stimuli. Groups III and 
IV contain each twenty-five words, of which five are 
printed in italics. 

c. The law of clearness or comprehension. Other things 
being equal, the amount and degree of attention depends 
upon the ease of apprehending the impressions, or upon 
the clearness of the impressions. Groups V and VI are 
composed of Greek words with the exception of five 
English words in each group. Because of the familiar 
or clear meaning of the English as compared with the 
Greek words, they are more apt to be noticed and remem- 
bered. We attend with difficulty to the meaningless or 
to the absolutely new. 

d. The law of counter attractions. Other things being 
equal, the amount and degree of attention depends upon 
the absence of counter attractions. That is, the smaller 
the number of objects is, the greater are the chances 
that a given object will attract attention. In Group VII 
there are only five words, all of which will ordinarily be 
noticed in the allotted time. In Group VIII there are 



154 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

ten words, of which usually not more than five will attract 
sufficient attention to be remembered. Hence the chances 
are about one in two that any particular word will be 
noticed. In Group IX, which contains twenty-five words, 
the chances are one in five that any given word will be 
noticed. 

Construct a table like the following one: 

TABLE XI 
Intensity. Groups I and II 

8 of the 10 large words were noticed 1 =80% 

4 of the 40 miscellaneous words were noticed = 10% 

Contrast. Groups III and IV 

9 of the 10 words printed in italics were noticed . . =90% 
2 of the 40 miscellaneous words were noticed = 5% 

Clearness. Groups V and VI 

6 of the 10 English words were noticed = 60% 

1 of the 40 Greek words was remembered = 2>£ % 

Counter attraction. Groups VII, VIII, and IX 

4 of the s in Group VII were noticed = 80% 

5 of the 10 in Group VIII were noticed = 50% 

4 of the 25 in Group IX were noticed =■= 16% 

1 The word noticed in each case means of course that the words 
attracted sufficient attention to be remembered until they could be 
written down. 



ATTENTION 



155 



TABLE XII 



RECORDS OF TWELVE PERSONS 



I . 

2. 

3 

4 
5. 
6. 

7 

8 

9 
10 
11 
12 



Intensity Contrast 


Clear- 
ness 


Miscella- 
neous 


Counter attraction 


Groups 
I. II 


Groups 
III. IV 


Groups 
V.VI 


Groups 
I to VI 


Groups VII, VIII 


.IX 


50% 


60% 


80% 


7-5% 


100% 


50% 


12% 


50 


30 


IOO 


7 


5 


IOO 


70 


24 


O 


80 


90 


7 


5 


IOO 


60 


24 


50 


100 


60 


7 


5 


IOO 


60 


20 


30 


60 


60 


4 




80 


40 


16 


60 


IOO 


IOO 


4 




IOO 


50 


20 


20 


30 


70 


12 




IOO 


40 


20 


40 


60 


70 


6 




IOO 


30 


20 


60 


90 


70 


7 


5 


IOO 


40 


20 


10 


30 


70 


12 




IOO 


50 


16 


20 


70 


IOO 


14 




IOO 


30 


16 


70 


70 
65 


90 
80 


7 


5 


IOO 

98.5 


40 
46.7 


12 


38.5 


8 


.1 


18.5 



Average . 

2. The Fluctuation or Shifting of the Attention. Our 

attention shifts continuously from moment to moment. 
Even with great effort it is impossible to keep the attention 
focussed for more than a few seconds upon the same idea 
or object. 

a. Look steadily at the central line in the " book " 
figure below. You will notice that the figure " flops " in 
and out. Part of the time it looks like a book open 
toward you, and part of the time like a book with its 
back toward you. Make a two minutes' record of these 
alternations. At the signal " now " from your partner, 
look steadily at the figure. Do not change your point of 
fixation. When the figure appears like a book open toward 



I5& EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

you say "in." At the moment it shifts over so that the 
back of the " book " stands out toward you say " out," 
and so on for two minutes. Do not try to make the fig- 




Fig. 23. 

ure change, but allow the alternations to occur at their 
natural rate. Your partner follows the second-hand of 
his watch and records the position of the hand each time 
you say " in " or " out." The record will be similar to 
the following one: 



In.. 
Out 



IS 23 30 38 47 57 5 14 
19 26 35 42 50 1 10 etc. 



Compute the average length of the " in " and of the 
" out " periods separately. 



ATTENTION 



157 



TABLE XIII 

RECORDS OF TWELVE PERSONS, SHOWING THE AVERAGE DURATION OF 
THE "IN" AND "OUT" PERIODS 



I 

2. 

3 
4- 
5. 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9 

10. 
11. 
12. 



Average 



"In" periods 
4-4" 
5-1" 
8.2" 

3-0" 
32" 

5-2" 

3.0" 
6.9" 
2.0" 
5.0" 
3-2" 
4.0" 

A a" 

4-4 



Out" periods 
7.6" 



4.8' 



b. (1) Look at the figure below for two minutes and 
notice that your attention periodically wanders off to 
something else. As soon as you catch your attention off 




Fig. 24. 

the figure, bring it back. Call out " now " each time you 
have to force your attention back to the figure. Your 
partner records the time in the same manner as in the 
preceding experiment. Calculate the average length of 
the periods. 

(2) Look at the same figure for two minutes, but this 



15$ EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

time try to work out in your mind the following questions 
about the figure: How long is the diameter of the circle? 
What is the width of the bar and of the circular line? 
What different things does the figure represent to you, 
or of what does it remind you? etc. 

If your attention should shift to anything not connected 
with the figure call out " now " and your partner will 
keep a record as before. How does this test compare with 
the preceding record with regard to the number of times 
the attention shifted away from the problems connected 
with the figure? 1 

3. Concentration of Attention. Turn to Fig. 23 and 
repeat the experiment under 2 a. Take a two minutes' 
record in exactly the same manner, but in this experiment 

TABLE XIV 

RECORDS OF TEN PERSONS, SHOWING THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE 
ATTENTION SHIFTED FROM THE FIGURE UNDER THE CONDITIONS 
OF EXPERIMEN1 b (i) AND b (2) 

b (I) b (2) 

1 25 times 5 times 

2 15 10 

3 I2 5 

4 4 o 

5 9 3 

6 7 3 

7 6 o 

8 7 4 

9 8 

10 6 9 

Average 9.9 times 3 . 9 times 

1 See James, Talks to Teachers, 101. 



ATTENTION 



159 



TABLE XV 

RECORDS OF TEN PERSONS, GIVING IN THE FIRST COLUMN THE AVERAGE 
DURATION OF THE "iN" PERIODS WHEN AN EFFORT WAS MADE 
TO HOLD THE FIGURE AS "iN," AND IN THE SECOND COLUMN 
THE NORMAL DURATION OF THE " IN " PERIODS TAKEN FROM 
TABLE XIII 



I 

2, 
3 
4 

5. 

6. 

7- 

8. 

9 
10. 



17. ' 


4.4" 


18. ' 


5.1" 


16./ 


8.2" 


9- ' 


3.o" 


8-5' 


3.2" 


21.2" 


6-9" 


4.2" 


2.0" 


20. ' 


5.o" 


5-9' 


3- 2" 


4-6' 


4. " 



Average 



12.5' 



4-5' 



attempt to hold the figure in the " in " position. If it 
shifts into the " out " position try to get it back as soon 
as passible into the " in " position. Find the average 
duration of the " in " periods. How do they compare with 
the normal length of the " in " periods as found in experi- 
ment 2 a? 

Discuss the following questions: 

1. Give an illustration from school work of securing 
attention through the law of intensity, through the law 
of contrast, through the law of clearness, through the 
law of counter attraction. 

2. Which laws are most suitable as permanent means 
of securing attention? 



l6o EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

3. What practical applications has the- principle in- 
volved in experiment b (1) and (2)? 

For further practical exercises see Thorndike, Prin- 
ciples of Teaching, 107-109; O'Shea, Dynamic Factors 
in Education, 24-25. 




CHAPTER XII 
MEMORY 

The practical problem in the field of memory is, How 
may we memorize or learn in the most economic manner? 
A considerable number of principles of economy in learn- 
ing have been established by extensive investigations . The 
experiments that follow will deal with only a few of these 
principles. 

i. Learning in Parts or as a Whole. Is it more eco- 
nomical to memorize a given amount of material piece- 
meal, or as an entirety? For this test the following two 
selections of poetry from Lorenzo's Laudi Spirituali are 
to be used. 

Memorize selection A part by part, making such divi- 
sions as seem convenient. Considefit memorized as soon 
as you are able to repeat it correctly without looking at 
the book. Record the number of minutes required. In 
both of the following selections work as intensively as you 
can and try to disregard any prejudice that you may have 
as to what the best method of memorizing is. 

161 



162 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

SELECTION A 

let this wretched life within me die 
That I may live in thee, my life indeed; 

In thee alone, where dwells eternity, 
While hungry multitudes death's hunger feed. 

1 list within, and hark! Death's stealthy tread! 
I look to thee, and nothing then is dead. 

Then eyes may see a light invisible 

And ears may hear a voice without a sound. 

After a few minutes' rest, memorize selection B by read- 
ing the entire selection through from beginning to end 
each time. Continue this until you are able to repeat it 
without consulting the text. Work with maximum con- 
centration, as in the first selection. 

SELECTION B 

When, sweet and beauteous Master, on that day, 
Reviewing all my loves with aching heart, 

I take from each its bitter self away, 

The remnant shall be thou, their better part. 

This perfect sweetness be his single store 

Who seeks the good; this faileth nevermore. 

A thirst unquenchable is not beguiled 

By draught on draught of any running river. 

How do the two methods compare? The greater 
economy of the " whole " method does not always appear 
in shorter amount of time required for it, but often in the 
greater permanence which is indicated by the shorter 



MEMORY 163 

time necessary to relearn material acquired by the 
" whole " method. To demonstrate this point, find the 
time necessary to relearn the two selections either twenty- 
four or forty-eight hours later. 

TABLE XVI 

RECORDS OF SIX PERSONS 

Part method Whole method 

1 3' 2' 15" 

2 3' 2' 45" 

3 5' 7' 

4 • 5' 3' 42" 

5 7' 5o" 7' 30" 

6 5' 3' 

Average 4' 48" 4' 22" 

2. The Effect of Incorrect Repetition. The problem of 
the next experiment is to determine the retarding effect 
of incorrect repetitions upon the speed of learning. 

Obtain a deck of ordinary playing cards. Remove 
from it all the aces, kings, queens, jacks, and tens, leaving 
altogether thirty-two cards. Take eight pieces of paper 
and number them from two to nine. Place these on the 
table before you about six inches apart, in irregular order, 
in the form of a semicircle. Shuffle the cards well. Take 
them into your left hand with their backs turned toward 
you. Then distribute them as rapidly as you can into 
eight piles indicated by the slips of paper. That is, put 
all the fours on one pile beside the slip bearing that num- 
ber, and all the fives on one pile, etc. Try to avoid all 
mistakes. If you discover having made a mistake, do 



164 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

not stop to correct it, as you would lose too much time 
on account of it. Record the exact time required to make 
the distribution. In this manner make ten distributions. 
Then have your partner rearrange the eight slips of paper 
in a different order. Before doing this, write down the 
order in which the slips are placed. Make two distribu- 

TABLE XVII 

RECORDS OF THIRTEEN PERSONS 



I 54 55 

2 49 45 

3 43 40 

4 43 40 



4i 
43 



38 

41 



7 40 38 

8 38 39 

9 39 35 

10 36 37 

Prearranged order 

11 60 52 

12..... 44 45 
Original order 

13 48 43 

14 45 35 

15- • 

16. . 

17. . 

18. . 
19.. 
20. . 



40 
44 
39 
38 
38 
37 



3 4 

60 82 

58 68 
50 69 
55 60 
50 50 
54 55 

59 52 
50 47 
49 45 
•• 45 



49 55 

42 55 

40 50 

38 48 

37 48 

33 42 

36 42 

30 38 

33 37 



7 8 

69 52 

69 44 

63 43 

55 40 

50 40 

43 38 

40 37 

40 36 

42 36 



32 35 40 37 



9 10 

69 60 

54 54 

54 5i 

57 48 

52 44 

49 40 
54 43 
48* 45 
56 43 

50 39 



11 12 13 

70 65 60 

60 60 58 

54 52 

56 50 
47 50 50 

57 44 54 
56 47 55 
5o 45 59 
50 44 50 
50 44 49 



50 

55 



55 69 45 45 69 40 54 53 56 55 55 

55 60 40 45 55 37 52 54 57 55 55 

49 50 40 38 54 42 46 54 5o 50 49 

.. 46 34 37 40 38 .. 45 46 48 .. 

• • 47 38 37 •• 36 •• 44 •• 47 •• 

.. 48 32 35 38 •• 42 •• 

•• 45 



tions according to this new arrangement. Then place 
the slips in the same order as they were originally and make 



MEMORY 165 

several distributions until you shall reach the speed you 
had attained before the two incorrect distributions. Be 
sure that the cards are thoroughly shuffled before each 
distribution. 

Make a table of your results similar to the sample 
records given in Table XVII. 

3. Pauses in Memorizing. The object of the following 
test is to determine the effect of a short pause after learn- 
ing. Use the following lists of words. Your partner will 
read to you each list once, reading at the rate of one word 
per second. Immediately after the first list has been 
read turn to some earlier part of the book and engage 
in rapid reading for thirty seconds. When the thirty 
seconds are over, which will be indicated by your part- 
ner, write down as many words of the list read to you, as 
you remember. 

After about two minutes, list two will be read to you. 
But during the thirty seconds following that, you are 
not to work, but to allow your mind to rest or wander 
as it will. However, do not repeat the words that were 

1. Poor, bind, draw, look, hang, sort, vein, plan. 

2. Evil, mark, wait, face, than, view, work, come. 

3. Call, grow, cast, term, down, suit, cold, leaf. 

4. Care, bold, trim, take, bite, stop, wake, pain. 

5. Blow, busy, coat, pull, pour, stay, jerk, have. 

6. Pick, this, rise, snap, give, from, more, that. 

7. Tilt, step, zeal, fall, thou, damp, iron, find. 

8. Lead, blue, turn, once, pray, rude, just, yard. 



l66 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

read to you. Then write down all the words you remem- 
ber. 

In like manner use the remaining lists of words. The 

odd-numbered lists are to be followed in each case by 

rapid reading for thirty seconds, and the even-numbered 

lists by rest periods of thirty seconds. 

The following lists are to be used upon your partner: 

i. Here, want, your, beat, room, gold, time, rock. 

2. Rear, moat, walk, hand, tell, heir, pass, mind. 

3. Fire, like, part, form, will, fear, clad, reef. 

4. Make, firm, live, yarn, wing, fold, good, hard. 

5. Home, fare, roll, mean, gone, gray, shot, hope. 

6. What, seem, hate, crow, lime, chin, cure, lend. 

7. Knot, free, some, each, slow, coal, sick, boat. 

8. Long, comb, song, less, calf, when, wood, dust. 

TABLE XVIII 

RECORDS OF TEN PERSONS, SHOWING THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORDS 
REMEMBERED PER GROUP 



I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Average 3-5 5-3 



Pause 


Pause 


Occupied 


Unoccupied 


4-7 


5-7 


4.8 


6.0 


5-2 


5-8 


3-8 


4.2 


3-0 


50 


3-0 


4-3 


3-5 


6.0 


4.0 


5-2 


3-2 


5-7 


23 


53 



MEMORY 167 

Find the average number of words remembered from 
the odd-numbered and the average number remembered 
from the even-numbered lists. 

4. Comprehension and System. The purpose of the 
next two tests is to demonstrate two maxims of memory, 
(a) Understand what you wish to remember, and (b) sys- 
tematize what you wish to remember. 

a. Sense versus Nonsense Material. Things understood 
clearly are remembered more readily. To show this 
experimentally, compare the length of time required to 
learn ten monosyllabic nouns with the time required to 
learn ten nonsense syllables. A list of syllables was 
assigned for memorizing in Chapter VIII, and the results 
of this test may be used for comparison, so that no new 
list needs to be learned. 

Find the time required to learn the following list of ten 
words: 

spade 

moon 

fox 

corn 

road 

town 

mink 

light 

sand 

knife 
Compare the time of this with the time needed for the 
first list of syllables in Chapter VIII. The sense material 



1 68 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

at once arouses so many more connections that it is 
remembered much more readily. 

TABLE XIX 

RECORDS OF ELEVEN PERSONS 

Syllables Words 

i i' 8" 40" 

2 1' 50" 

3 2 ' 3o" 42" 

4 1' 4o" I' 5" 

5 *' 45" 

6 1' 20" 55" 

7 3' 2' 

8 I' 30" i' 

9 3' I' 45" 

10 2' 30" 2' 

II 1' 20" 30" 

Average 1' 49" 1' 1" 

b. Find the time required to commit to memory the 
following list of items. Consider them learned as soon as 
you are able to repeat, in the order in which they are 
printed, all the items, and their equivalents or dates, 
without consulting the text. Learn by the " whole " 
method, that is, read the entire list each time. Work as 
intensively as you can. 



MEMORY 



169 



LIST A 



Battle of Poitiers 


1356 A. D. 


Katheko = 


come down 


Karphe = 


hay 


782+465 = 


1247 


Invention of grain-binder 


1854 A. D. 


624+832 = 


I45 6 


Arch of Constantine built 


314 A. D. 


Zulon = 


timber 


901+477 = 


1378 


Battle of Colline Gate 


82 B. C. 


758+546 = 


I3°4 


Invention of typewriter 


1855 A. D. 


Harkos = 


oath 


683+459 = 


1142 


Ochthe = 


bluff 



After a few minutes of rest learn the following list of 
items. Proceed also by the " whole " method. Record 
the time. Work intensively. 



170 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



LIST B 

Five historical dates: 

Destruction of Corinth 146 b. c. 

Battle of Strassburg 357 a. d. 

Battle of Agincourt 141 5 a. d. 

Invention of cream separator 1879 A - D - 

Invention of gasoline engine 1875 a. d. 



Five Greek words: 

Chalepos = 
Chrema = 
Phluaros = 
Poleo = 
Skeneo = 



difficult 
wealth 
nonsense 
to sell 
to encamp 



Five additions: 

593+854 = 
697+561 = 
729+637 = 
823+576 = 
945+363 - 



1447 
1258 
1366 

1399 
1308 



MEMORY 171 

Both lists contain the same number of items of each 
class. In List A they are arranged in chance order, while 
in List B they are systematized and grouped according to 
their classes. 

Compare the time of learning the two lists. What in- 
ference do you draw? 

TABLE XX 

RECORDS OF TEN PERSONS 

List A List B 

1 12' 5' 

2 10' 5' 

3 19' 14' 

4 9' 7' 

5 15' 12' 

6 15' 9' 40" 

7 ii' 30" 6' 

8 14' 11' 

9 20' 14' 

10 15' 8' 10" 

Average 14' 3" 9' 11" 

Discuss the following questions: 

1. Give several concrete applications of the principle 
that the " whole " method is better than the " part " 
method in learning. 

2. Give several instances in which the detrimental 
effect of incorrect repetitions would be shown. 

3. Give one illustration in the study of history and one 
in the study of geography of the principle involved in 
experiment b. 

For additional exercises consult Thorndike, Principles 
of Teaching, 123-127. 



CHAPTER XIII 
WORK AND FATIGUE 

The object of the experiment in this chapter is to demon- 
strate some means of measuring continuous work, and to 
show the changes and, particularly, the effects of fatigue 
in continuous work. 

i. Mental Work and Fatigue. In order to measure 
mental fatigue, it is necessary to employ a form of test 
which involves the lowest minimum of muscular and 
sensory work. Many such tests have the objection of 
involving considerable muscular activity. For example, 
the cancellation test is largely a test of fatigue of eye 
muscles. The tapping tests likewise are tests mostly of 
muscular fatigue. 

The type of work which has proved most successful 
is some form of arithmetical calculation. In the pres- 
ent experiment the work will consist of mental addi- 
tion. 

Be comfortably seated in a quiet room. Your partner 
will announce to you a number consisting of two digits. 
Add six to this number, then add seven to this new sum, 
and then eight to that, then nine, and then again six, 

172 



WORK AND FATIGUE 173 

seven, eight, and nine in rotation, etc. When the sum 
has reached one hundred or more drop the extreme left 
hand digit and continue with the two remaining digits. 
For example, if the number given you were 80, then your 
consecutive sums would be 80, 86, 93, 101, 10, 16, 23, 31, 
etc. Your partner will announce a new number every 
thirty seconds. In each case add six, seven, eight, and 
nine in rotation to the sum you get after each addition. 
In order to understand thoroughly the conditions of the 
experiment, use for preliminary trials the following two 
numbers which will not occur among the numbers of the 
regular experiment, 40, and 60. 

Close your eyes and add just as rapidly as you can. 
Your partner will give you a new number every thirty 
seconds. Speak your sums aloud so that your partner 
can hear them and follow the columns below, which give 
the correct succession of answers. If you make a mistake 
he will write your numrjfcopposite the correct one. At 
the end of every thirty jjBonds he will make a check mark 
to indicate how many numbers you had added and at 
the same time give you a new number which will be the 
one at the top of the next column. Lose no time when a 
new number is announced, but start at once with it and 
add at your maximum speed until another number is 
given you, and so on. 



174 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



40 


60 


46 


66 


53 


73 


61 


81 


70 


90 


76 


96 


83 


103 


9i 


11 


too 


20 


6 


26 


13 


33 


21 


4i 


30 


50 


36 


56 


43 


63 


5i 


7i 


60 


80 


66 


86 


73 


93 


81 


IOI 



Now begin with the regular experiment. The numbers 
to be announced every thirty seconds are the ones at the top 
of the columns. It is absolutely necessary that you should 
work just as hard and as fast as you can. The entire test 
will take thirty minutes, as there are sixty columns. 1 

The class should be divided into two groups. One 
should work continuously for thirty minutes, while the 
other should take a rest of two minutes after the first 
fifteen minutes of work. 

x The numbers that are used for "starters" comprise all the 
numbers between o and 100 which will not produce sums whose right 
hand digit is o. All these were omitted because the additions in 
such cases are decidedly easier. 

The columns are long enough so that no one is apt to go beyond any 
one in the allotted thirty seconds. If this should occur your partner 
should make a check mark for every number beyond the column. 



WORK AND FATIGUE 1 75 



28 


52 


33 


58 


26 


81 


46 


72 


68 


53 


34 


58 


39 


64 


32 


87 


52 


78 


74 


59 


41 


65 


46 


7i 


39 


94 


59 


85 


81 


66 


49 


73 


54 


79 


47 


2 


67 


93 


89 


74 


58 


82 


63 


88 


56 


11 


76 


2 


98 


83 


64 


88 


69 


94 


62 


17 


82 


8 


4 


89 


71 


95 


76 


1 


69 


24 


89 


15 


11 


96 


79 


3 


84 


9 


77 


32 


97 


23 


19 


4 


88 


12 


93 


18 


86 


4i 


6 


32 


28 


13 


94 


18 


99 


24 


92 


47 


12 


38 


34 


19 


I 


25 


6 


3i 


99 


54 


19 


45 


4i 


26 


9 


33 


14 


39 


7 


62 


27 


53 


49 


34 


18 


42 


23 


48 


16 


7i 


36 


62 


58 


43 


24 


48 


29 


54 


22 


77 


42 


68 


64 


49 


3i 


55 


36 


61 


29 


84 


49 


75 


71 


56 


39 


63 


44 


69 


37 


92 


57 


83 


79 


64 


48 


72 


53 


78 


46 


1 


66 


92 


88 


73 


54 


78 


59 


84 


52 


7 


72 


98 


94 


79 


6i 


85 


66 


91 


59 


14 


79 


5 


1 


86 


69 


93 


74 


99 


67 


22 


87 


13 


9 


94 



176 EXPERIMENTS. IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



35 


II 


36 


62 


98 


43 


85 


5i 


66 


22 


41 


17 


42 


68 


4 


49 


9i 


57 


72 


28 


48 


24 


49 


75 


11 


56 


98 


64 


79 


35 


56 


32 


57 


83 


19 


64 


6 


72 


87 


43 


65 


41 


66 


92 


28 


73 


15 


81 


96 


52 


7i 


47 


72 


98 


34 


79 


21 


87 


2 


58 


78 


54 


79 


5 


4i 


86 


28 


94 


9 


65 


86 


62 


87 


13 


49 


94 


36 


2 


17 


73 


95 


7i 


96 


22 


58 


3 


45 


11 


26 


82 


1 


77 


2 


28 


64 


9 


5i 


17 


32 


88 


8 


84 


9 


35 


7i 


16 


58 


24 


39 


95 


16 


92 


17 


43 


79 


24 


66 


32 


47 


3 


25 


1 


26 


52 


88 


33 


75 


4i 


56 


12 


31 


7 


32 


58 


94 


39 


81 


47 


62 


18 


38 


14 


39 


65 


1 


46 


88 


54 


69 


25 


46 


22 


47 


73 


9 


54 


96 


62 


77 


33 


55 


3i 


56 


82 


18 


63 


5 


7i 


86 


42 


61 


37 


62 


88 


24 


69 


11 


77 


92 


48 


68 


44 


69 


95 


3i 


76 


18 


84 


99 


55 


76 


52 


77 


3 


39 


84 


26 


92 


7 


63 



WORK AND FATIGUE 177 



38 


73 


25 


4i 


76 


12 


78 


13 


95 


3i 


44 


79 


31 


47 


82 


18 


84 


19 


1 


37 


5i 


86 


38 


54 


89 


25 


9i 


26 


8 


44 


59 


94 


46 


62 


97 


33 


99 


34 


16 


52 


68 


3 


55 


7i 


6 


42 


8 


43 


25 


61 


74 


9 


61 


77 


12 


48 


14 


49 


3i 


67 


81 


16 


68 


84 


19 


55 


21 


56 


38 


74 


89 


24 


76 


92 


27 


63 


29 


64 


46 


82 


98 


33 


85 


1 


36 


72 


38 


73 


55 


9i 


4 


39 


9i 


7 


42 


78 


44 


79 


61 


97 


11 


46 


98 


14 


49 


85 


5i 


86 


68 


4 


19 


54 


6 


22 


57 


93 


59 


94 


76 


12 


28 


63 


15 


3i 


66 


2 


68 


3 


85 


21 


34 


69 


21 


37 


72 


8 


74 


9 


9i 


27 


4i 


76 


28 


44 


79 


15 


81 


16 


98 


34 


49 


84 


36 


52 


87 


23 


89 


24 


6 


42 


58 


93 


45 


61 


96 


32 


98 


33 


15 


5i 


64 


99 


5i 


67 


2 


38 


4 


39 


21 


57 


7i 


6 


58 


74 


9 


45 


11 


46 


28 


64 


79 


14 


66 


82 


17 


53 


19 


54 


36 


72 



I7§ EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



86 


92 


18 


63 


45 


91 


16 


82 


88 


23 


92 


98 


24 


69 


5i 


97 


22 


88 


94 


29 


99 


5 


3i 


76 


58 


4 


29 


95 


1 


36 


7 


13 


39 


84 


66 


12 


37 


3 


9 


44 


16 


22 


48 


93 


75 


21 


;6 


12 


18 


53 


22 


28 


54 


99 


81 


27 


52 


18 


24 


59 


29 


35 


61 


6 


88 


34 


59 


25 


31 


66 


37 


43 


69 


14 


96 


42 


67 


^3 


39 


74 


46 


52 


78 


23 


5 


5i 


76 


42 


48 


83 


52 


58 


84 


29 


11 


57 


82 


48 


54 


89 


59 


65 


91 


36 


18 


64 


89 


55 


61 


96 


67 


73 


99 


44 


26 


72 


97 


63 


69 


4 


76 


82 


8 


53 


35 


81 


6 


72 


78 


13 


82 


88 


14 


59 


4i 


87 


12 


78 


84 


19 


89 


95 


21 


66 


48 


94 k 


19 


85 


9i 


26 


97 


3 


29 


74 


56 


2 


27 


93 


99 


34 


6 


12 


38 


83 


65 


11 


36 


2 


8 


43 


12 


18 


44 


89 


7i 


17 


42 


8 


-4 


49 


19 


25 


5i 


96 


78 


24 


49 


15 


21 


56 


27 


33 


59 


4 


86 


32 


57 


23 


29 


64 



WORK AND FATIGUE 1 79 



75 


21 


96 


42 


48 


83 


55 


61 


56 


32 


81 


27 


2 


48 


54 


89 


61 


67 


62 


38 


88 


34 


9 


55 


61 


96 


68 


74 


69 


45 


96 


42 


17 


63 


69 


4 


76 


82 


77 


53 


5 


5i 


26 


72 


78 


13 


85 


9i 


86 


62 


11 


57 


32 


78 


84 


19 


9i 


97 


92 


68 


18 


64 


39 


85 


9i 


26 


98 


4 


99 


75 


26 


72 


47 


93 


99 


34 


6 


12 


7 


83 


35 


81 


56 


2 


8 


43 


15 


21 


16 


92 


4i 


87 


62 


8 


14 


49 


21 


27 


22 


98 


48 


94 


69 


15 


21 


56 


28 


34 


29 


5 


56 


2 


77 


23 


29 


64 


36 


42 


37 


13 


65 


11 


86 


32 


38 


73 


45 


5i 


46 


22 


7i 


17 


92 


38 


44 


79 


5i 


57 


52 


28 


78 


24 


99 


45 


5i 


86 


58 


64 


59 


35 


86 


32 


7 


53 


59 


94 


66 


72 


67 


43 


95 


41 


16 


62 


68 


3 


75 


81 


76 


52 


1 


47 


22 


68 


74 


9 


81 


87 


82 


58 


8 


54 


29 


75 


81 


16 


88 


94 


89 


65 


16 


62 


37 


83 


89 


24 


96 


2 


97 


73 



l8o EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 



93 


65 


71 


15 


28 


52 


33 


58 


26 


81 


99 


71 


77 


21 


34 


58 


39 


64 


32 


87 


6 


78 


84 


28 


4i 


65 


46 


7i 


39 


94 


14 


86 


92 


36 


49 


73 


54 


79 


47 


2 


23 


95 


1 


45 


58 


82 


63 


88 


56 


11 


29 


1 


7 


5i 


64 


88 


69 


94 


62 


17 


36 


8 


14 


58 


7i 


95 


76 


1 


69 


24 


44 


16 


22 


66 


79 


3 


84 


9 


77 


32 


53 


25 


3i 


75 


88 


12 


93 


18 


86 


4i 


59 


31 


37 


81 


94 


18 


99 


24 


92 


47 


66 


38 


44 


88 


1 


25 


6 


3i 


99 


54 


74 


46 


52 


96 


9 


33 


14 


39 


7 


62 


83 


55 


61 


5 


18 


42 


23 


48 


16 


71 


89 


61 


67 


11 


24 


48 


29 


54 


22 


77 


96 


68 


74 


18 


3i 


55 


36 


61 


29 


84 


4 


76 


82 


26 


39 


63 


44 


69 


37 


92 


13 


85 


9i 


35 


48 


72 


53 


78 


46 


1 


19 


91 


97 


4i 


54 


78 


59 


84 


52 


7 


26 


98 


4 


48 


61 


85 


66 


9i 


59 


14 


34 


6 


12 


56 


69 


93 


74 


99 


67 


24 



WORK AND FATIGUE 



181 



Construct a curve, similar to the one in Fig. 25, to show 
the number of additions made in every five thirty-second 
period. Also indicate whether you belong to the group 
with or without the two minutes' rest. 

It is perhaps impossible to select an activity in which 
there is no increase in efficiency due to practice. The type 
of work used here involves a relatively small amount of 
practice. It is obvious that the two factors of practice 
and fatigue which appear in all continuous work tend to 
counteract each other. The former tends to make the 
curve rise while the latter tends to make it drop. The two 
factors may, however, be separated. If we allow a period 
of rest of two minutes at the end of every five minutes of 
work we reduce the effects of fatigue and get the natural 
rise of the curve due to practice. The upper one in Fig. 25 
is the composite curve of seven persons obtained in this 
manner. The lower one is the composite of ten persons 
working continuously. The former may be called the 
practice curve and the latter the fatigue curve. The 




Fig. 25. 



l82 EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 

average gain of the seven records in the practice curve, 
comparing the last five half -minute periods with the first 
five, is 57 per cent., while the average gain of the ten 
records in the fatigue curve is 10 per cent. 

2. Muscular Work and Fatigue. Perhaps the best 
apparatus for measuring muscular work and fatigue is the 
Mosso ergograph, which is to be used in this experiment. 1 

Fasten the fingers, hand, and forearm of the right arm 
firmly in the arm rest, leaving only the middle finger free. 
Attach the finger cap to the middle finger so that the wire 
is taut when the finger is in resting position. With this 
finger lift the weight regularly every two seconds. Follow 
a metronome which has been set to beat sixty times per 
minute. On the first stroke raise the weight as high as 
you can and on the second lower it to the resting position, 
then on the next stroke lift it again, etc. Make a maxi- 
mum pull each time and continue until the finger is com- 
pletely exhausted. After a rest of thirty seconds make 
another record in the same manner. To show the effect 
of different intervals of rest, half of the class should rest 
thirty seconds and the other half one minute between 
the two records. 

Dip the record paper in shellac and hang it up to dry. 
After it is thoroughly dry mount it upon stiff paper and 
preserve it among your notes. Compare the number and 

1 This experiment will require careful supervision by the in- 
structor in charge to see that the apparatus is properly set up. 

The ergograph may be obtained from C. H. Stoelting Co., 121 
N. Green St., Chicago, 111. 



WORK AND FATIGUE 



183 



height of the pulls made in the two records. Also notice 
whether there are any rhythmic variations in the decrease 
of strength. 




vO 



F 



=3 




T 



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